Research Article Stability of annual biomass energy production of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) genotypes in the Northern region of the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to estimate the stability of dry biomass production of elephant grass genotypes under an annual harvest regime, in soil-climatic conditions of the Northern region of the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and to compare methodologies for stability analyses of Yates and Cochran (YC), Plaisted and Peterson (PP), Annicchiarico (ANN), Lin and Binns (LB), Huenh (HU), and Kang and Phan (KP). A randomized block design with 83 treatments and two replicates was adopted. Four annual harvests were performed (2012-2015) and dry matter yield (DMY, t.ha.year) was evaluated. Individual and combined analyses of variance for DMY revealed significant effects for genotypes, harvests, and for the genotype x harvest interaction at the probability levels of 1 and 5%. Genotypes indicated by the YC and PP methods are associated with higher stability and lower DMY. The weighting of KP with YC and PP was highly effective in associating stability with DMY. The LB and ANN methods showed strong agreement with each other and produced similar classifications as to phenotypic stability, and so we recommend using one or the other. Genotypes Elefante Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Cuba-116, Taiwan A-46, P241 Piracicaba, Taiwan A-144, Cameroon - Piracicaba, 10 AD IRI, Guaçu/I,Z,2, Mineirão IPEACO, Taiwan A-121, IJ7125 cv EMPASC308, 903-77, Mole de Volta Grande, and Porto Rico 534-B showed high stability and DMY, standing out as promising genotypes for the soil-climatic conditions of the Northern region of the Rio de Janeiro State. The methodologies based on ANOVA and non-parametric analyses were complementary and increased reliability in the recommendation of genotypes.

Estimating Elephant-Grass Adaptability and Stability for Energy-Biomass Production by Regression Models

“…According to Pimentel-Gomes and Garcia (2002), combined analysis of variance can be performed when this ratio is smaller than seven, which was the case in the current experiment. The present result also agrees with Araújo et al (2017), who evaluated 83 elephant-grass genotypes for energy production at four harvests and obtained a ratio between highest and lowest RMS of 6.57.…”

“…This value is considered acceptable for DMY, which is a quantitative trait whose genetic control involves several genes, making it highly influenced by the environment (Table 2). This CV value is in line with those typically reported in studies with this crop, also in field conditions (Pimentel-Gomes & Garcia, 2002;Rossi et al, 2014;Rocha et al, 2015;Araújo et al, 2017).…”

“…The significance of the G × H interaction demonstrates that the relative performance of the genotypes was not consistent throughout the successive harvests. Significant G × H interactions in the evaluation of elephant grass for energy generation over several harvests were also reported by Rocha et al (2015), Araújo et al (2017), and Silva et al (2018b).…”

“…In spite of all of these favorable characteristics, research focusing on the breeding of elephant grass for energy generation can be considered still incipient, especially when compared with that of many commodities. In this regard, the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro (UENF) develops an elephant-grass breeding program aimed at the assessment of the viability of use of plant biomass and at the selection of high-yielding genotypes with appropriate biomass quality to be used in the generation of energy (Silva et al, 2017(Silva et al, , 2018a(Silva et al, , 2018bDaher et al, 2014;Menezes et al, 2016;Sousa et al, 2016Sousa et al, , 2017Araújo et al, 2017).…”

Growth curve in elephant grass genotypes based on morpho-agronomic traits for energy production

“…There are many works that support the findings of this study, for example, when evaluating the yield performance of 83 genotypes of elephant grass under the regime of annual cuts in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, Araújo et al (2017) obtained DMY ranging from 26.73 to 36.02 t ha -1 in four evaluation cuts. These results are similar to the ones found in this work.…”