The experiment was carried out in 2015 kharif cropping seasons at the Main Agricultural Research Station,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, to study the yield response of different popcorn genotypes and to assess
popping ability among the selected genotypes which were grown in identical condition. The present study revealed
significant genotypic differences (minimum to maximum ) in plant height from 177.3 cm to 259.1 cm, total dry matter
production from 189.0 g plant-1 to 273.1 g plant-1, leaf area index from 5.5 to 7.6, days to 50 per cent, tasselling and silking
ranged from 45 to 53.6 days and 49.33 to 58.33 days respectively, ASI ranged between 4.6 to 6.6 days, photosynthetic rate
from 25.42 µ mol CO2 m-2 s-1 to 35.15 µ mol CO2 m-2 s-1. The yield-attributing characters (viz., cob weight, cob length, cob
girth, number of seed rows per cob, number of seeds per line, number of seeds per cob and test weight) of popcorn
genotypes significantly influenced grain yield per hectare. Significant improvement in overall growth of the crop was due
to its increased photosynthetic efficiency which resulted in greater availability of photosynthates, metabolites and increased
dry matter accumulation for growth and development of reproductive structures which contributed for higher productivity.