Performance, Adaptability and Stability of Soybean Cultivars Submitted to Different Environments Conditions

Abstract

For the plant breeding, developing a single soybean cultivar that is adapted and stable to multiple production environments has been a major challenge. Therefore, integrating the individual analysis of cultivars to their average response when gathered in groups of relative maturity can be a smart alternative to minimize risks and maximize soybean productivity. Nine soybean cultivars were grouped into four distinct groups as to their relative maturity (from 4.8 to 6.4), and tested in three sowing times (September, October and December) and three growing seasons (2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19) as to their yield performance, adaptability and stability in southwest Paraná, Brazil, latitude 25º41'52 "S, longitude 53º03'94" We, altitude of 509 meters. Performance was evaluated by grouping means, using Scott Knott. For the adaptability and stability analysis, AMMI (Additive Main effect and Multiplicative Interaction), GGE Biplot and Centroid methods were used. The NS 5909 IPRO® and NS 6909 IPRO® cultivars, both close to GMR 6.0, presented superior average performance in most of the evaluated production environments, and the earliest cultivars, with GMR less than 5.4, were the ones that produced less, in general, in different environments. Specific adaptations stood out from the general broad adaptation for the evaluated cultivars. The adaptability of the genotypes was not accompanied by high stability, which contributes to the reduction of the average productivity of the cultivars when exposed to different environments.