Genotype × Environment Interaction and Spatial Analysis of Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] Genotypes in the Highland Areas of Ethiopia

Genotype × Environment Interaction and Spatial Analysis of Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] Genotypes in the Highland Areas of Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Genotype × Environment Interaction and Spatial Analysis of Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] Genotypes in the Highland Areas of Ethiopia Temesgen Begna, Temesgen Teressa, Zigale Semahegn, Tokuma Legesse This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6759001/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Sorghum plays a critical role in achieving global food security, particularly in regions where both abiotic and biotic stresses coexist. However, genotype-by-environment (G×E) interaction remains a major challenge in developing and recommending superior and stable sorghum genotypes suitable for mega-environments. To address this, the present study aimed to develop and identify high yielding and stabile sorghum genotypes across diverse environments for yield and key agronomic traits. A total of 131 sorghum genotypes were evaluated using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in a row-column arrangement. Genotypic performance for grain yield, days to flowering, and plant height was assessed using linear mixed model analysis. Across the six test environments, the best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) for grain yield ranged from 0.42 t ha⁻¹ (ETSC13383-2 at HN21NVT) to 8.3 t ha⁻¹ (ETSC13108-3 at HU19PVT), with the overall mean grain yield varying from 2.2 t ha⁻¹ (Adelle) to 4.4 t ha⁻¹ (ETSC13153-3). The maximum grain yield was recorded from genotype ETSC13153-3 (4.4 t ha⁻¹), followed by ETSC300067 (4.1 t ha⁻¹), ETSC13367-1 (4.1 t ha⁻¹), ETSC300072 (4.1 t ha⁻¹), and ETSC13139-2 (4.0 t ha⁻¹), underscoring their superior performance across the tested environments. The genotype ETSC13153-3 outperformed the standard checks Dibaba, Jiru, and Adelle in terms of grain yield by 31.8%, 38.64%, and 50%, respectively. Similarly, the genotypes ETSC300067, ETSC13367-1, and ETSC300072 demonstrated a 46.34% grain yield advantage over the standard check Adelle, while the genotype ETSC13139-2 outperformed Adelle by 45%. The results revealed that genotypes ETSC13153-3, ETSC300067, ETSC13367-1, ETSC300072, and ETSC13139-2 were among the highest-yielding and most stable performers across the six evaluated environments, demonstrating their potential for broad adaptation and suitability for recommendation in diverse sorghum-growing regions. Given their outstanding performance, these genotypes are strong candidates for release as new commercial sorghum varieties in the near future. These genotypes hold significant potential for future sorghum improvement programs and are well suited for large-scale production in the highland regions of Ethiopia. G × E Interaction Stability Sorghum Best linear unbiased prediction Mega-environment Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6759001","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":472012767,"identity":"156f83f0-d820-4229-97e0-5c93b4b073be","order_by":0,"name":"Temesgen Begna","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNjDJDyISCohQzwPTItkA0mJAihaDA2CSCC327N1pDz78uiNvfH514ocHBgzy/GIHCNjCc3a74cy+Z4bbbrzdLAF0mOHM2QkEtEjkbpPm7TnMuO3G2Q0gLQkGtwlpkX+7Tfpvz2H7zTPObv5BnBYJ3m3SDD8OJ27g791GpC1ncrcb9jYcTp5xg3ebRYKBBGG/sLef3fbgx5/Dtv39Zzff/FFhI88vTUALGDC2AQkJsEoJIpSDwR8g5j9ArOpRMApGwSgYaQAAxwZJNOWtq20AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Chiro National Sorghum Research and Training Center","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Temesgen","middleName":"","lastName":"Begna","suffix":""},{"id":472012768,"identity":"9c036396-2750-42d4-88a4-72d6d5b858b9","order_by":1,"name":"Temesgen Teressa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Chiro National Sorghum Research and Training Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Temesgen","middleName":"","lastName":"Teressa","suffix":""},{"id":472012769,"identity":"83daf06e-cf88-4f03-8b35-d6f4b7c15be9","order_by":2,"name":"Zigale Semahegn","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Melkassa Agricultural Research Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zigale","middleName":"","lastName":"Semahegn","suffix":""},{"id":472012771,"identity":"c0463750-2f1d-4248-905a-60763b8781a8","order_by":3,"name":"Tokuma Legesse","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Melkassa Agricultural Research Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tokuma","middleName":"","lastName":"Legesse","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-27 11:38:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6759001/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6759001/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":86225444,"identity":"43880855-cf98-45f0-ae1a-391fe4caf25d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-08 07:54:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":569057,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SorghumhighlandGXEinteraction.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6759001/v1_covered_c1542b4b-7858-428c-8213-ed6b02238440.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eGenotype × Environment Interaction and Spatial Analysis of Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] Genotypes in the Highland Areas of Ethiopia\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"G × E Interaction, Stability, Sorghum, Best linear unbiased prediction, Mega-environment","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6759001/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6759001/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSorghum plays a critical role in achieving global food security, particularly in regions where both abiotic and biotic stresses coexist. However, genotype-by-environment (G\u0026times;E) interaction remains a major challenge in developing and recommending superior and stable sorghum genotypes suitable for mega-environments. To address this, the present study aimed to develop and identify high yielding and stabile sorghum genotypes across diverse environments for yield and key agronomic traits. A total of 131 sorghum genotypes were evaluated using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in a row-column arrangement. Genotypic performance for grain yield, days to flowering, and plant height was assessed using linear mixed model analysis. Across the six test environments, the best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) for grain yield ranged from 0.42 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; (ETSC13383-2 at HN21NVT) to 8.3 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; (ETSC13108-3 at HU19PVT), with the overall mean grain yield varying from 2.2 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; (Adelle) to 4.4 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; (ETSC13153-3). The maximum grain yield was recorded from genotype ETSC13153-3 (4.4 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), followed by ETSC300067 (4.1 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), ETSC13367-1 (4.1 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), ETSC300072 (4.1 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), and ETSC13139-2 (4.0 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;), underscoring their superior performance across the tested environments. The genotype ETSC13153-3 outperformed the standard checks Dibaba, Jiru, and Adelle in terms of grain yield by 31.8%, 38.64%, and 50%, respectively. Similarly, the genotypes ETSC300067, ETSC13367-1, and ETSC300072 demonstrated a 46.34% grain yield advantage over the standard check Adelle, while the genotype ETSC13139-2 outperformed Adelle by 45%. The results revealed that genotypes ETSC13153-3, ETSC300067, ETSC13367-1, ETSC300072, and ETSC13139-2 were among the highest-yielding and most stable performers across the six evaluated environments, demonstrating their potential for broad adaptation and suitability for recommendation in diverse sorghum-growing regions. Given their outstanding performance, these genotypes are strong candidates for release as new commercial sorghum varieties in the near future. These genotypes hold significant potential for future sorghum improvement programs and are well suited for large-scale production in the highland regions of Ethiopia.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Genotype × Environment Interaction and Spatial Analysis of Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] Genotypes in the Highland Areas of Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-18 11:25:03","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6759001/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"04a57568-839c-4a8e-9ac4-fa4ead3b574d","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 18th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-08T07:54:11+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-18 11:25:03","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6759001","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6759001","identity":"rs-6759001","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}