AMMI Analysis of Yield Performance in Foxtail Millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] Genotypes for Adaptation to Rainfed Conditions in Andhra Pradesh

Background: Foxtail millet is a short duration crop which is suitable for different cropping systems in rainfed farming. Improvement of yields is necessary to achieve profits in rainfed situation which is highly influenced by the high yielding varieties. Genotype by environment interaction (G×E) causes genotypes failure to keep high performance in all environments. Location specific climatic conditions also influence significantly genotype × environment (G×E) interaction, so with the result that identifying stable genotypes for rainfed situations is difficult. The study was conducted with a prime objective to identify stable high yielding foxtail millet genotypes for rainfed cultivation and to identify ideal mega-environments using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction stability model analysis. Methods: Four prerelease promising foxtail millet genotypes including three released popular check varieties were evaluated across six locations in Andhra Pradesh during Kharif, 2018 under rainfed situation. Result: The culture, SiA 3159 was found to be stable performer across the locations indicating that it is suitable for wide range of environments. In contrast the genotypes SiA 3085 and SiA 3156 showed narrow adaptation, specifically adapted to Anantapur (rainfed situation having scarce rainfall) and Vizianagaram (favorable environments with assured rainfall areas) respectively.