Stability of grain yield and harvest index in winter and facultative bread wheat (triticum aestivum l.) Genotypes

Development of wheat cultivars with high and stable yield for different environments is very important in breeding programs. In this study, 19 winter and facultative wheat genotypes along with a check cultivar (c.v. Shahreeyar) were studied for grain yield and its stability at Karaj, Arak, Ardebil, Hamedan, Mashhad, Jolgeh Rokh and Tabriz Agricultural Experimental Stations in 1997-2000 cropping seasons. The experimental design was RCB with four replications. Results of combined ANOVA showed that interaction of genotype x location x year was highly significant. Using different stability analysis methods such as CV, regression analysis and simultaneous selection for yield and stability showed similar results. Genotype C75-5 (OWL 85256*-3oh-*O-*Eoh) was determined as the superior for grain yield among all genotypes in almost all methods. Results of the study on harvest index (HI) indicated that the genotype C-75-15 (Bez- 2B/Cgn/Vratza) was superior for HI stability. Although, the correlation coefficient between grain yield and harvest index was positive and significant (r =0.36**) however, stabilities of these two traits among the genotypes, were not similar.