Genotype–environment interaction and yield stability analysis of Colombian yellow diploid potato cultivars using mixed linear models and environmental covariates

Abstract

Several statistical methods have been developed to decompose the phenotypic response based mainly on the general means, the effect of the genotype and its interaction with the environment, treating the environmental variance as a confounding factor. However, the estimation of the environmental effect from the traits evaluated would establish a dependency on the genotype, resulting in a lower fit and predictive potential of the model. The integration of environmental covariates to the models that associate edaphoclimatic characteristics with the traits of interest has been proposed, with the purpose of increasing the predictive potential and the variance contained by the models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of the traits of interest in yellow diploid potato (Solanum tuberosum L. Group: Phureja) crops to environmental covariates, selecting the most relevant covariates as parameters in empirical multiple regression models based on environmental variance. The results showed a high yield variability due to covariates of the water component, while the quality traits were mainly affected by traits of the energetic and physicochemical components of the soil. The adjusted models explained the variance due intrinsically to the environment, reaching adjustments greater than 20%. Therefore, it is concluded that the traits have a high phenotypic sensitivity and the incorporation of environmental covariates to the genotype‐by‐environment interaction analysis models could improve the understanding of the stability and adaptability of cultivars from the data obtained in multi‐environment trials.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved