Association mapping for general combining ability with yield, plant height and ear height using F1 population in maize

General combining ability (GCA) is an important index for inbred lines breeding of maize. To identify the genetic loci of GCA and associated agronomic traits, an association analysis with 195 SSRs was made in phenotypic traits of 240 F1 derived from 120 elite inbred lines containing current breeding resources of maize crossed with 2 testers (Zheng58 and Chang7-2) in two places in 2018. All of the 20 association loci detected for grain yield (GY), plant height (PH), ear height (EH) and GCA for the three traits in two places could explain a phenotypic variation range of 7.31%-9.29%. Among the 20 association loci, 9 (7.31%-9.04%) were associated with GY, 4 (7.22%-8.91%) were related to GCA of GY, 1 (7.56%) was associated with PH, and 3 (7.53%-8.96%) were related to EH. In addition, 3 loci (9.14%-9.29%) were associated with GCA of PH whereas no locus was identified for GCA of EH. In the comparison of the association loci detected in Baoding and Handan, interestingly, one locus (7.69% and 8.11%) was identified in both environments and one locus (7.52% and 7.82%) was identified for yield and GCA of yield. Therefore, the identification of GY-, PH-, EH- and GCA-related association loci could not only provide references for high yield breeding of maize, but also help us comprehend the relationships among GY, agricultural traits and GCA.