Stability Analysis for Seed Yield and Related Traits of Oat (Avena sativa L.) under Varied Conditions of North-Western Himalayas

This study was undertaken to determine the stability of oat genotypes for seed yield under different environmental conditions prevalent in north- western Himalayas. One hundred and twenty-one genotypes including five checks were evaluated in simple lattice design for three years (Rabi 2015-16 to 2017-18). The stability was estimated using Eberhart and Russell model for six traits viz., days to 50% flowering, days to 75% maturity, biological yield per plant, harvest index (%), 1000-seed weight (g) and seed yield per plant (g). The pooled analysis of variance showed that genotypes behaved differently for all the traits over the environments. The most stable performing genotypes identified were S8-217, UPO-119, Oats-17 and Oats-8655, respectively. However, the best performing and stable genotypes for seed yield were JPO-24 and Oat- 79. Thus, the genotypes identified as stable and well adapted over test environments could be exploited as valuable gene pool in further breeding programme, for developing stable genotypes with high yield potential or could be tested in multi-locational trials to release as a cultivar.