Evaluation of Genotype x Environment Interactions in Quinoa Genotypes (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), as one of the quasi-cereal crop plants with high nutritional value and yield potential, especially in stressful environments, has recently been proposed as a suitable alternative plant for sustainable nutrition of the world's growing population. In Iran, this plant has been considered as a valuable crop for several years, but since quinoa is native to the South American region, therefore, while assessing the compatibility of different imported cultivars, it is necessary to introduce stable high-yielding cultivars for different regions of the country. The objective of the current study was to investigate the GEI and the adaptability and stability of grain yield of 20 Bolivian and Peruvian quinoa genotypes. The experiment layout was a randomized complete block design with three replications in Kuhdasht and Poldokhtar counties, Lorestan province, Iran, during two cropping years, 2020 and 2021. To evaluate the stability of genotypes, the methods of Roemer's environmental variance, Francis and Kannenberg's coefficient of variation, Shukla's stability variance, Wricke's equivalence, the regression coefficient of Finlay and Wilkinson, the deviation from regression line of Eberhart and Russell, the intra-location variance of Lin and Binns and the GGE-Biplot were used. The results of combined analysis of variance showed a significant difference between genotypes and environments as well as the genotype x environment interaction at 1% probability level. The results of stability analysis of the genotypes using different methods were also very different, but in total, using all studied stability criteria along with grain yield, four genotypes 7, 10, 14, and 15 were identified as the most stable and productive genotypes. In addition to low-yield fluctuations and mean grain yield of more than 3000 kg.ha-1, these genotypes had other suitable characteristics such as dwarfism, early maturity and low saponin content, and are introduced as the superior genotypes of this experiment for cultivation in the studied areas.