Stability Analysis of Yield and its Components in Malt Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.) Genotypes

Stability performance of 20 malt barley genotypes involving commercial cultivars and elite lines were compared by using regression on environmental means for grain yield and its components such as days to flowering, plant height, tillers per plant, grains per spike, grain weight per spike and 1000- grain weight in eight unilocation environments. Significant differences were observed among the genotypes for all the traits studied in all the eight individual environments. Genotypes x environment interactions measured through regression analysis were significant for all the yield components with the environmental component having the largest effect. Most of the genotypes did not satisfy the stability criteria indicating the presence of non-linear component of G X E instead of the linear component for most of the traits studied. The genotypes BL 53 for days to flowering, VJM531, VJM540, DWRUB52, PL796 and RD2503 for plant height, VJM201, PL796, BL71 and DWR28 for tillers per plant, DWRUB52 and VJM531 for grains per spike, and BL73 and BL61 for 1000-grain weight and VJM531, VJM540 and DWRUB52 were found to be comparatively stable.