Inbred corn line W60028

#The present invention relates to a new and distinctive corn inbred line, designated W60028. There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety or hybrid an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include higher yield, resistance to diseases and insects, better stalks and roots, tolerance to drought and heat, and better agronomic quality.

#Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plant reproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and the type of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F1 hybrid cultivar, pureline cultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superior individual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective, whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based on mean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of related plants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection, modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection.

#The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method. Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes for a highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach has been used extensively for breeding disease-resistant cultivars. Various recurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitatively inherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrent selection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination, the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and the number of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.

#Inbred corn line W60028 is a yellow dent corn with superior characteristics, and provides an excellent parental line in crosses for producing first generation (F1) hybrid corn.

#Standard pedigree ear-row selection method was used. Selfing and selection were conducted for eight generations in the development of W60028. The selection criteria used during the development of W60028 were: grain yield; high plant density tolerance, good stand establishment, silking and pollen shedding ability, stalk and root strength, stay green appearance during senescence, seed quality and disease tolerance.

#Inbred corn line W60028 has the following morphologic and other characteristics (based primarily on data collected at Waterloo, Neb.)