STABILITY ASSESSMENT OF SELECTED CLONES OF NEOLAMARCKIA CADAMBA UNDER THE MULTI ENVIRONMENTAL TRIALS USING AMMI AND GGE BIPLOT ANALYSIS.

Stability analysis of a panel of twenty clones of Neolamarckia cadamba was evaluated in three locations viz., Chennai, Neyveli and Dhimbum. Experiment was conducted using Randomised Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Tree height and girth were measured from the second year of planting and subjected to statistical analysis. Pooled mean of tree height varied from 4.56 (C17) to 6.11 m (C127), while girth was ranged from 21 (C17) to 31.81cm (C105) across locations. Results of the pooled analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences (p<0.01) for the studied traits across genotypes, environments and genotypes by environment interaction (GEI). Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) biplots constructed between the first two principal components, explained 73.5 and 69.8% of the GEI for height and girth, respectively. Neyveli was identified as the ideal location among three locations studied based on the biplots. Clones C144 and C127 were reported to be highly stable based on the different biplot models while AMMI stability indices identified C140 and C105 as more stable. Utilizing these clones in future breeding programmes could improve yield production, and these clones identified could be recommended for commercial cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]