GGE Biplot Analysis for Cane and Sugar Yield from Advanced-Stage Sugarcane Trials in Subtropical India

The performance of quantitative traits in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. complex) often varies across diverse environments because of significant genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI). Our objective was to assess performance stability of 20 advanced sugarcane genotypes across six environments, including two crop seasons in Punjab. Data were obtained on cane yield (t/ha), sucrose % juice, and commercial cane sugar % at harvest and subjected to GGE [genotype (G) plus genotype-environment (GE)] biplot analysis, which revealed high positive correlations between spring and autumn crop seasons at all locations for all measured traits. This implied that genotypes could be evaluated in either crop season, which should reduce testing cost and time. Test environment Faridkot (FDK) spring, being both discriminating and representative, was an ideal test environment for selecting generally adapted genotypes for cane yield. Similarly, Ludhiana (LDH) autumn was an ideal test environment for selecting generally adapted genotypes for quality traits. Co 0238 and CoPb 08214, having high mean performance and stability across environments for cane yield and quality traits, were identified as ideal genotypes. These genotypes can be exploited commercially for the entire state of Punjab. The GGE biplot helped identify a specifically adapted genotype, CoH 119, which was the best performer in Gurdaspur (GDSP) in both crop seasons.