The breeding of purple colored sweet corn (Zea mays saccharata Sturt.) rich in phytochemical content

The study was carried out in order to (i) develop hybrid varieties of purple sweet corn and native parent inbred lines that can reach these varieties, (ii) determine morphological traits of inbred purple sweet corn lines, (iii) determine the general combining abilities of purple sweet corn inbred lines, (iv) identfy purple sweet hybrids that have high quality content based on phytochemicals and quality content at Antalya Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute (BATEM) in 2020 and 2021. Thanks to the cultivation in the greenhouse as well as the field studies, two generations of improvement per year during the thesis were achieved. In the study, pedigree methods were used for the development of purple sweet corn lines and backcrossing method was used for introducing new alleles. Purple colored sweet corn lines developed during the thesis period were examined in the top-cross, and general combining abilities of these lines were determined. The laboratuary studies of this thesis were also carried out in the Medicinal Aromatic Plant Central Laboratories in the same institution. According to the results obtained from the thesis; 118 purple colored sweet corn breeding lines were obtained at S5 stage. The lines obtained were morphologically characterized and determined their genetic backgrounds. According to the results of the topcross hybrid yield test, it was determined that 18 purple sweet lines had high general combining ability. Of the 18 purple sweet corn hybrids included in the experiment, 3 were identified as promising cultivar candidates in terms of yield and phytochemical contents. The thesis study pioneered the purple colored sweet corn breeding studies in our country and brought a new and domestic functional product to our country for both the producer and the consumer. KEYWORDS: Antioxidant, Anthocyanin, Functional food, Phenolic content, Purple corn, Sweet corn