Stability analysis for fodder yield of oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes using univariate statistical models under diverse environmental conditions in Ethiopia

Abstract

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the most important dual-purpose cereal crops cultivated under diverse environmental conditions in Ethiopia. The fodder dry matter yield stability analysis was conducted using twenty-four oat genotypes across nine environments in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The study aimed to evaluate the magnitude of genotype by environment interaction and determine the stability of oat genotypes for fodder yield using 14 univariate stability parameters. The pooled analysis of variance revealed that the genotype, environment, and their interaction effects had variation (p < 0.001) for fodder yield. The contribution of environment for the total fodder yield variation was the highest (67.45%) followed by the interaction (22.73%) and genotypic (9.82%) effects. The results of stability analysis showed that high fodder yield-producing genotypes had stable performance using the stability parameters of genotypic superiority index (P_i), yield stability index (YSI), coefficient of determination (R²), and coefficient of variability (CV_i), demonstrating that selection of oat genotypes using these stability parameters would be effective for fodder yield improvement. Moreover, Spearman's rank correlation coefficients indicated that the stability parameters of P_i, YSI, R², and CV_i had a significant positive association with fodder dry matter yield (FDMY). On the contrary, the FDMY had non-significant inverse relations with the remaining stability parameters except B_i, suggesting that the selection of oat genotypes using these stability parameters would not be effective for fodder yield improvement. Therefore, G6, G7, G9, G10, and G23 were desirable genotypes for fodder yield improvement programs in Ethiopia.