Simultaneous Selection for Yield and Yield Stability with Different Stability Statistics

For decreasing the effects of Genotype ×Environment (GE) interaction and having more precise selection, the yield and yield stability of selected lines should be evaluated simultaneously. YSi statistic is one of the applied methods for simultaneous selection of yield and yield stability. The objective of this study was to compare result of YSi statistic with other statistics approach such as S2i, CVi, S2di and R2i.Twenty hulless barley lines were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replications and in three locations (Neyshabour, Isfahan and yazd) during 2007-2009 crop seasons. Results of combined ANOVA indicated significant effects for Ggenotype ×Environment × year interaction (p= 0.01). Nine lines were selected by YSi method with overall mean of 5.89 t ha-1 grain yield. Overall mean yield of selected lines using only grain yield, yield plus environmental variance (or environmental coefficient of variation) and yield plus coefficient of regression and deviations from regression mean squares were 5.86, 6.01 and 5.85 t ha-1, respectively. Based to the LSD value (LSD=0.87 t ha-1, p=0.05), differences among mean yield (or different selection approaches) were not significant. As a result, with using the YSi statistic (with more emphasis on stability), the cultivar selection process can be done with more confidence.