Evaluation of yield stability of seven barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes in multiple environments using GGE biplot and AMMI model

Abstract

Evaluation of genotypes under multiple environments is the prerequisite for the development of stable and superior genotypes for sustainable barley production and a changing climate. GGE (G, genotype and GE, genotype (G) by environment (E), interaction) biplot and the AMMI (The Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction) model are the effective methods to find out the genotype(s) which are stable and suitable to cultivate in specific or multiple environments. The experiment was conducted to analyze the performance of seven barley genotypes for selecting stable and superior genotypes across three different environmental conditions of Bangladesh (i.e., at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur; at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), BARI, Jamalpur and at the RARS, BARI Ishurdi). All genotypes in three locations were arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. After two years observation, it was found that all genotypes across the location were found highly significant (p≤0.01), due to the variation of environments, genotypic variability and their interaction. The first two principle component axes (PC1 and PC2) of site regression model were significant (P≤0.01) and cumulatively contributed to 89.65% of the total GE interaction. In the polygon view of biplot, there were five rays which divided the biplot into five sectors, and all three locations fell into two of these five sections. Location Jamalpur fell into sector 1, whereas Ishurdi and Gazipur fell into sector 2. Among the locations, Ishurdi was found the best for all genotypes, where Gazipur and Jamalpur were found unfavourable. Among the genotypes, 'E7' performed the best for the average grain yield (GY) followed by 'E3', 'E2' and 'E4', whereas 'E1' had lowest average GY for all locations. The highest yield in environment Jamalpur was obtained by the genotype 'E2', on the other hand genotype 'E7' produced the highest GY in locations of Ishurdi and Gazipur. Considering yield stability, genotypes 'E3', 'E4' and 'E1' were found to be more stable, whereas genotype 'E2' was the most unstable over all locations. Genotypes 'E7' and 'E3' were found to be close to the ideal genotype position, in the case of the maximum GY and yield stability across the locations as compared to other genotypes and recommended for commercial cultivation for Bangladesh including South-Asia.