Table 2.
Relationships between yield and yield components in three sections of maize spikes based on Pearson’s correlation analysis.
| Grain yield | KN-A | KN-M | KN-B | TKW-A | TKW-M | TKW-B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yield | 1.000 | ||||||
| KN-A | 0.453** | 1.000 | |||||
| KN-M | 0.297 ns | 0.738*** | 1.000 | ||||
| KN-B | 0.272 ns | 0.771*** | 0.964*** | 1.000 | |||
| TKW-A | 0.324* | 0.566** | 0.505** | 0.505** | 1.000 | ||
| TKW-M | 0.155ns | 0.547** | 0.525** | 0.565** | 0.688*** | 1.000 | |
| TKW-B | 0.197ns | 0.578** | 0.610** | 0.541** | 0.751*** | 0.877*** | 1.000 |
Values in bold are the direct effects of KN-A on yield based on path coefficients; adjusted R2 = 0.17.
***P < 0.001, **P < 0.01, and *P < 0.05. ns, not significant.
KN-A, KN-M, and KN-B are the kernel numbers in the apical, middle, and basal sections, respectively; TKW-A, TKW-M, TKW-B are the 1,000-kernel weight in the apical, middle, and basal sections, respectively.