Breeding for Diverse Color and Protein Quality in Popcorn and Sweet Corn

Authors

• Jonathan Niyorukundo, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

David Holding

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Committee Members

Blaine Johnson, Edgar Cahoon, Katherine Frels

Department

Agronomy

Date of this Version

4-29-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy

Major: Agronomy

Under the supervision of Professor David Holding

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Jonathan Niyorukundo. Used by permission

Abstract

Sweet corn and popcorn are important crops consumed globally as vegetable and snack, respectively. They are deemed healthy foods due to high fiber and carotenoid contents, especially in yellow varieties. Commercial varieties are optimized for high-yielding agronomics, and previous efforts were made to improve specific macro- and micronutrient contents. Both sweet corn and popcorn have poor protein quality due to the inadequate essential amino acids such as lysine and tryptophan. Moreover, commercial varieties are predominantly yellow, thereby offering no diversity of other maize colors, which are potentially healthier and more appealing to the consumer. In this project, we sought to breed diverse color and quality protein traits in sweet corn and popcorn using conventional breeding approach. The project yielded colored sweet corn varieties (nine inbreds and 20 hybrids), quality protein sweet corn (six inbreds and 12 hybrids), and colored quality protein popcorn (nine inbreds). The new colored and quality protein sweet corn and popcorn demonstrated increased carotenoid and flavonoid pigments associated with the diverse color phenotypes, and increased lysine content. Furthermore, the new lines were evaluated and selected for the agronomics and quality traits that resemble the original sweet corn and popcorn parents.

Recommended Citation

Niyorukundo, Jonathan, "Breeding for Diverse Color and Protein Quality in Popcorn and Sweet Corn" (2026). Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–. 485.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissunl/485