Quantitative trait locus analysis for ear height in maize based on a recombinant inbred line population.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is among the crops with the greatest worldwide economic importance. Ear height is a very important trait that is considered necessary in maize and is related to morphology, lodging, and yield. To realize its genetic basis, an F9 recombinant inbred line population and a genetic map consisting of 101 simple sequence repeat markers were used to detect the quantitative trait locus (QTL) for ear height, and the result showed that one QTL on chromosome 1 was identified with a mapping interval of 5 cM to its linked marker Umc1358. The QTL from elite inbred line Mo17 could explain 9.55% of the phenotypic variance, and because of the additive effect, it could result in an ear height increase of 4.86 cm. This result was beneficial for understanding the genetic basis of ear height in maize.