EVALUATION OF WHEAT GENOTYPE STABILITY THROUGH GGE BIPLOT ANALYSIS

Under pronounced climate changes, identifying wheat genotypes with high yield potential and high stability across environments is becoming essential. A multi-environment trial (MET) with 15 wheat genotypes was conducted across three localities (Pančevo, Kragujevac, and Kruševac) during two growing seasons (2022/2023 and 2023/2024). The study evaluated genotype stability and adaptability for the number of grains per spike and assessed the discriminatory power of the test environments. The GGE biplot presented the combined genotype (G) + genotype × environemtnt (GE) effects, with PC1 and PC2 explaining 58.88 and 19.98% of the total variation, respectively. The spelt wheat lines achieved the highest values for the number of grains per spike and were positioned closest to the “ideal genotype”. Among the bread wheat genotypes, the line KG-40/1 showed the highest value and was narrowly adapted to the environmental conditions of Pančevo and Kragujevac in 2022/2023 season. The genotypes KG-9/1, KG-43/1, and NS 40S demonstrated high stability and high numbers of grains per spike. Environment Pančevo 2023/2024 exhibited the greatest representativeness and discriminative ability, making it the most suitable for genotype evaluation. These findings provide a practical basis for selecting stable and well-adapted genotypes in future wheat breeding programs.