Effectiveness and relative discriminatory abilities of techniques measuring genotype × environment interaction and stability in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)

Summary Twenty selected okra genotypes were evaluated in four different environments for stability of performance, measured by days to flowering, number of branches per plant, plant height, number of pods per plant, pod weight, and pod yield per plant. An analysis of the components of G × E interaction showed that it might not always be adequately explained by a linear function of the environment. The heritability estimates for the response of the characters showed that the number of branches per plant was under strong genotypic influence. The stability variance parameters, % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGak0dh9WrFfpC0xh9vqqj-hEeeu0xXdbba9frFj0-OqFf% ea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr% 0-vqpWqaaeaabaGaaiaacaqabeaadaqaaqaaaOqaaiqbeo8aZzaaja% WaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIYaaaaaaa!3A18![hat sigma ^2]and W-mean square and the deviation MS employed in the analyses of stability indicated that most of the genotypes were unstable in respect of the characters. The % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGak0dh9WrFfpC0xh9vqqj-hEeeu0xXdbba9frFj0-OqFf% ea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr% 0-vqpWqaaeaabaGaaiaacaqabeaadaqaaqaaaOqaaiqbeo8aZzaaja% WaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIYaaaaaaa!3A18![hat sigma ^2]and W-mean square produced similar results which were different from those of deviation MS; the two stability-variance techniques were more discriminatory than the regression technique.