Delineation of Genotype X Environment Interaction for Grain Yield in Spring Barley under Untreated and Fungicide-Treated Environments

Barley (Hordeul vulgare L.) is the fourth most important cereal crop based on production and cultivated area. Biotic stresses, especially fungal diseases in barley, are devastating, incurring high possibilities of absolute yield loss. Identifying superior and stable yielding genotypes is crucial for accompanying the increasing barley demand. However, the identification and recommendation of superior genotypes is challenging due to the interaction between genotype and environment. Hence, the present investigation was aimed at evaluating the grain yield of different sets of spring barley genotypes when undergoing one of two treatments (no treatment and fungicide treatment) laid out in an alpha lattice design in six to seven locations for five years, through additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI), GGE biplot (genotype + genotype X environment), and stability analysis. The combined analysis of variance indicated that the environment was the main factor that contributed to the variation in grain yield, followed by genotype X environment interaction (GEI) effects and genotypic effects. Ten mega environments (MEs) with five MEs from each of the treatments harboured well-adapted, stable yielding genotypes. Exploiting the stable yielding genotypes with discreet use of the representative and discriminative environments identified in the present study could aid in breeding for the improvement of grain yield in spring barley genotypes.