Identifying superior barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes using GGE-biplot across warm and moderate environments under irrigated conditions in Iran

Multi-environmental trials (METs) are essential to study genotype by environment interaction (GEI) for effective line (s) selection and cultivar recommendations in breeding programs. Twenty promising barley genotypes were studied across ۱۲ environments in a randomized complete block design with three replications in six different warm and moderate sites in Iran across two cropping seasons (۲۰۱۴-۲۰۱۵ and ۲۰۱۵-۲۰۱۶) using the GGE-biplot method. The combined analysis of variance revealed that environment accounted for ۴۹.۳% of the total variation while G and GE-interaction (GEI) explained ۴.۴% and ۲۵.۱%, respectively. Three genotypes, G۶, G۸, and G۱۸, were superior in terms of high performance and stability. The ۱۲ test environments were grouped into three different mega-environments (Mega-۱, ۲ and ۳). Genotypes G۱۶, G۲۰ and G۹ were identified as the best winning genotypes in Mega-۱, ۲ and ۳, respectively. Based on the GGE-biplot, genotype G۳ was found to be the ideal genotype and environments (E۸ and E۹) were found to be the ideal environments. GGE-biplot provided a reasonable visual examination of the relationships among the test environments, the genotypes, and the GEI. Overall, genotype G۳ was better than the other genotypes and is recommended for the warm sites of Iran.

Keywords:

Barley , GE interaction , GGE-biplot , Grain yield , Multi-environmental trials