gge biplot-based evaluation of yield performance of barley genotypes across different environments in china

the yield performance of 23 barley (hordeum vulgare l.) genotypes in sixteen test environments across a barley growing region of china was evaluated. the experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replicates, in two cropping seasons (2010-2011, in the south; 2012-2013, in the north). the gge biplot was applied to analyze the data obtained in the multi-environment trials. the results indicated that either the north or south test sites could be grouped into three possible mega-environments, the best- performing and candidate genotypes for the north and south were g7 (zhongsimai1), g5 (08b26), g17 (g231m004m), and g13 (zhe3521), respectively. among the sixteen test environments, e6 (shihezi) and e12 (yancheng) had the greatest discriminating ability, while e1 (haerbing), e4 (shang kuli), e8 (wuhan), and e16 (chengdu) could be dismissed from the future trials due to the similarity of their ability of discrimination and representation.