Genotype by environment and genotype by yield*trait interactions in sugar beet: analyzing yield stability and determining key traits association

Abstract

The genotype by environment interaction significantly influences plant yield, making it imperative to understand its nature for the creation of breeding programs to enhance crop production. However, this is not the only obstacle in the yield improvement process. Breeders also face the significant challenge of unfavorable and negative correlations among key traits. In this study, the stability of root yield and white sugar yield, and the association between the key traits of root yield, sugar content, nitrogen, sodium, and potassium were examined in 20 sugar beet genotypes. The study was conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replications over two consecutive years across five locations. The combined analysis of variance results revealed significant main effects of year, location, and genotype on both root yield and white sugar yield. Notably, two-way and three-way interactions between these main effects on root yield and white sugar yield resulted in a significant difference. The additive main effect and multiplicative interaction analysis revealed that the first five interaction principal components significantly impacted both the root yield and white sugar yield. The linear mixed model results for root yield and white sugar yield indicated that the genotype effect and the genotype by environment interaction were significant. The weighted average absolute scores of the best linear unbiased predictions biplot demonstrated that genotypes 20, 4, 7, 2, 16, 3, 6, 1, 14, and 15 were superior in terms of root yield. For white sugar yield, genotypes 4, 16, 3, 7, 5, 1, 10, 20, 2, and 6 stood out. These genotypes were not only stable but also had a yield value higher than the total average. All key traits, which include sugar content, sodium, potassium, and alpha amino nitrogen, demonstrated a negative correlation with root yield. Based on the genotype by yield*trait analysis results, genotypes 20, 19, and 16 demonstrated optimal performance when considering the combination of root yield with sugar content, sodium, alpha amino nitrogen, and potassium. The multi-trait stability study, genotype 13 ranked first, and genotypes 10, 8, and 9 were identified as the most ideal stable genotypes across all traits. According to the multi-trait stability index, genotype 13 emerged as the top-ranking genotype. Additionally, genotypes 10, 8, and 9 were recognized as the most stable genotypes.

Does the Amount of Pre-Sowing Nitrogen Fertilization Affect Sugar Beet Root Yield and Quality of Different Genotypes?

“…In temperate climates, sugar beet root is the main raw material for sugar processing. The average sucrose content in the root mostly varies from 14 to 20% [2][3][4][5]. In addition to the main product, white sugar, a wide range of processed products provide opportunities for added value, both directly, as the main product-sugar-and indirectly, as secondary products, i.e., sugar beet leaves and crowns, beet slices, molasses, and saturation sludge.…”

Envirotyping within a multi-environment trial allowed identifying genetic determinants of winter oilseed rape yield stability

“…To gain power in detecting QTL associated to plant adaptation, stability indicators have been developed and used in genetic analyses of stability. For instance, ecovalence indices (Wricke 1962 ; dos Santos Silva et al 2021 ) or AMMI stability values are used to describe genotypic contribution to G × E and to characterize the adaptability versus stability in different environments (Purchase et al 2000; Bouchet et al 2016 ; Lozada and Carter, 2020; Hassani et al 2023 ). Genotypic reaction norms to environmental gradient are also commonly used; they correspond for instance to Finlay and Wilkinson's regression slope ( 1963 ) (see Diouf et al 2020 ; Xavier et al 2018 ; Mangin et al 2017 for application examples).…”