Integrated models approach for multi-environmental trial: uncovering Genotype-by-environment interaction and stability investigation of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) varieties

Exploring crop performance and response across diverse conditions has become increasingly strenuous due to the combined effects of climate change and genotype-by-environment interaction. In this regard, evidence concerning the extent of genotype × environment pattern on the grain yield of the released Tunisian durum wheat varieties amid the changing climate is still scarce. This investigation sought to assess the grain yield stability of nine durum wheat varieties using multi-environment trials (13 environments), combining two locations namely Kef and Beja across six and seven cropping seasons, respectively. To this end, a holistic approach integrating the Additive Main Effect and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI), Weighed Average Absolute Scores of BLUPs (WAASB) and the Genotype + Genotype × Environment interaction (GGE) was adopted. The combined analysis revealed significant effects of genotypes ( P < 0.01 ), environments ( P < 0.001 ), and their interaction ( P < 0.001 ) on grain yield. Among all sources of variance, environment accounted for the largest proportion of variation (92.08%), followed by the genotype × environment interaction (6.43%), and genotype (1.48%). Through the investigation of specific interactions, four distinct mega-environments with four winning varieties Dhahbi, INRAT100, Om Rabiaa and Maali were uncovered. The results further identified Salim and Razzak as exhibiting the highest stability. By giving insight into the performance and stability of the released Tunisian varieties, this study lay the groundwork for the development of guidelines and varietal recommendations under varying climate scenarios.