Superiority of Pollen from Fl Plants of Maize in Selective Fertilization

Many studies on selective fertilization in maize, Zea mays L., have been reported since it was detected that genetic factor (s) linked to the de gene is responsible for distortion of segregation in F 2.2> On the other hand, some applications of the selective fertilization to maize breeding, i.e. prediction for combining abi lity of inbred lines or F1 seed production without using cytoplasmic male sterility, were proposed. In addition, some papers showed that selective fertilization played a role in the occurrence of genetic drift caused by non-random fertilization in random population from the results of mixed-pollination experiments. However, all of these studies are concerned with genie effects of particular genes in gamete or in homozygous sporophyte, irrespective of any zygosity of plants producing gamete, especially pollen. The present review shows an approach to selective fertilization of maize pollen derived from heterozygous F1 plants showing heterosis and implication of such kind of heterosis in gamete competition.