Peer review

Genotype × environment (GE) interaction effect is one of the major challenges in identifying cultivars with stable performance across environments and years. Objective of the present study was to identify maize hybrids with high and stable yields under different soil moisture regimes such as drought, waterlogged and well-watered conditions. The trials were carried out in subsequent winter (Rabi) and summer-rainy (Kharif) seasons of 2017 and 2018 totaling seven test environments at the two different locations of India viz, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and CIMMYT, Hyderabad. After observing substantial and statistically significant GE interaction for studied traits, the phenotypic stability of maize hybrids was analyzed by AMMI, GGE biplot and multi-trait stability index (MTSI) methods. The study emphasized on the significance of AMMI and GGE biplots in deciphering the GE interactions based on grain yield data. Estimation of stability indices, WAASB (Weighted Average of Absolute Scores from the singular value decomposition of the matrix of BLUPs) for the GE interaction effects and WAASBY (a combination of WAASB and yield) scores for identification of the best suitable genotypes with high stability and maximum yield potential was highlighted. The investigation delineated the applicability of MTSI that computed based on the genotype-ideotype distance considering the multiple variables. The methods studied were concordant in the identification of the promising maize hybrids with high mean performance and greater phenotypic stability across the different soil moisture conditions.

Maize CRP FP3 - Stress resilient and nutritious maize

Text in English

Seetharam, K. : Not in IRS Staff list but CIMMYT Affiliation