Morphological Variation In Maize Ears From Reciprocal and Multi-Pollen Crosses

Controlled pollination enables comparisons of ear traits among maize parental combinations, but differences in ear appearance do not necessarily establish genetic superiority or the origin of individual kernels. This study characterized the morphological responses of Pulut Uri (P), Srikandi Kuning (K), and Srikandi Ungu (U) using nine recorded pollination combinations in a randomized complete block arrangement with three replications at Universitas Teuku Umar, Indonesia, during November 2020–March 2021. Parental plant heights were documented at 15, 30, and 45 days after planting; ear weight with and without husks, kernel number, and kernel coloration were recorded for pollination treatments. The U♀ × P♂ combination produced the largest recorded mean ear weights with husks (236.67 g) and without husks (174.44 g), and its reported least significant difference groupings were highest for both traits. The same treatment had the largest numerical kernel count (300.89 kernels per ear), although no inferential separation for this trait was provided. Ear photographs showed cream, yellow, orange, red, and purple pigmentation patterns. Reciprocal directions differed descriptively in several pairs, whereas applications involving two pollen sources did not produce a consistently higher ear weight. These observations provide preliminary information for selecting parental combinations, while color phenotypes cannot establish the paternal origin of individual kernels.