Genetic Evaluation for Stability of Grain Yield and Yield Components in Foxtail Millet Using GGE Biplot in Foothills of Nagaland

Aims: Foxtail millet cultivation in India's North Eastern Hill region holds promise due to its adaptation to diverse environments and high-quality grain. Studying G x E interaction in this region will guide breeding programs to develop foxtail millet varieties adapted to local conditions. The objective of this study was to find out foxtail millet genotypes that produce high yield in diverse environments and to identify ideal mega-environments using GGE Biplot stability model analysis.

Methods: The investigation was carried out during July 2022 to May 2023 for four different dates of sowing with twenty-five days interval. Two environments maintained under rained condition and the remaining two environments are maintained under irrigated condition. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications in all environments.

Results: Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences (at 5%) among the 30 genotypes for all yield variables under evaluated. Genotype ‘G1’ exhibited superior performance for both yield and yield-related traits.In this study, four GGE biplots of GY, one is Discriminativeness and representativeness in GGE biplots revealed E4 is identified as the most representative environment. At the same time, E3 also stands out for its strong discriminative capacity. Another one is Which Own Where" biplots revealed that G19 and G27 displayed superior and stable performance in E1. Similarly, G25 and G1 excelled in E2, E3, and E4. while mean vs stability biplots revealed that G1 is stable and performs well.

Conclusion: Genotypes, namely G1, G22, G25, and G21, exhibited stable and reliable performance across different conditions.