Habte Nida , Amare Seyoum , Adane Gebreyohannes
Sorghum is the third major cereal crop in Ethiopia in terms of area coverage next to tef and maize and second in terms of productivity next to Maize. In spite of biotic and a biotic stress tolerant , is largely affected by genotype ×environment interaction (GE) making it difficult and expensive to select and recommend new sorghum genotypes for different environments . Yield stability is one of the setbacks facing sorghum breeders in developing widely adapted varieties with superior yield. The objectives of this study was to assess the nature and magnitude of GEI and determine the response of advanced genotypes to varying environments and to identify high yielding and stable sorghum genotypes for Intermediate altitude of Ethiopia. The grain yield of 24 genotypes along with one standard check were evaluated for 3 yr (2010, 2011 and 2012 cropping seasons) at seven location in Ethiopia. Combined analyses of variance displayed highly significant variation for Genotype (P<0.01), Location (L) (P<0.001), Year(Y) (P<0.001), and Genotype* Location (G*L) (P<0.01), Genotype * Year(G*Y) (P<0.001), Location * Year(L*Y) (P<0.001) and Genotype *Location * Year(G*Y*L) (P<0.001) . This finding indicated that mean grain yield (kg/ha) was significantly influenced by Year(Y), Environment (Y x L) and Genotype(G) which accounted for 37.57 % , 16.92% and 13.22% of the total variation, while Location(L) and Genotype by location (G x L) displayed 8.92 % and 4.62 % of the variation, respectively. Genotype 10, Genotype 3, Genotype 4, Genotype 7, Genotype 15 and Genotype 2 respectively displayed 17.9%, 15.31 %, 14.77%, 14.53%, 13.60% and 12.19% yield advantage over standard check Geremew. These genotypes are the most ideal and stable genotypes across the testing environment and will be advanced to variety verification trail for evaluation and verification by variety verification committee in the comong cropping season. Whereas ,Mechara Jimma and Bako respectively has been identified as the ideal testing site for intermediate altitude sorghum testing environment in Ethiopia .By and large, the information from this finding could be useful for breeders who are interested to develop high yielding , leaf and grain disease resistant Sorghum varieties adapted to the Intermediate agro-ecology of Ethiopia.
G; GxE; GEI; Stability;Ideal Environment; GE biplot ; Ideal Genotype;