International Journal of Plant & Soil Science

Aims: The present study was undertaken to identify mustard genotypes with stable performance under late-sown conditions by evaluating genotype × environment interactions across multiple sowing dates in the Eastern Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

Study Design: A field experiment was conducted using eight mustard genotypes along with two check varieties (PM-26 and TAM 108-1) during the rabi seasons of 2020–2021, 2021–2022, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024. The genotypes were evaluated under four different sowing dates in each year like as — 30^th October, 15^th November, 30^th November and 15^th December and each of these treated as a distinct environment. A total of sixteen environments were generated over the four years. The study followed a randomized complete block design with three replications.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Linseed and Mustard, College of Agriculture, Nagpur, Maharashtra. The study spanned four consecutive rabi seasons, from 2020–2021 to 2023–2024.

Methodology: Observations were recorded on five traits viz., days to maturity, plant height, number of branches plant^-1, number of siliquae plant^-1 and seed yield plot^-1. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine the significant differences of genotype, environment and their G × E interaction. Stability analysis was performed using the Eberhart and Russell’s model, which computes three parameters viz., mean performance, regression coefficient (b_i) and mean square deviation from regression (S̅²di). These parameters were used to evaluate the adaptability and stability of genotypes across environments.

Results: The analysis of variance indicated significant differences among environments, genotypes and genotype × environment interactions for all traits under study. The significant pooled deviation also confirmed the presence of differential genotype responses to varying environments. Stability analysis revealed that the genotypes viz., ACN-237 and ACN-226 exhibited the highest mean for seed yield plot^-1, days to maturity and plant height along with non-significant deviation from regression (S̅²di) and regression coefficients (bi) tends to unity. These results indicate that these genotypes possess wide adaptability and stable performance across sowing dates.

Conclusion: The genotypes viz., ACN-237 and ACN-226 emerged as the most stable and high-yielding across varying environmental conditions induced by different sowing dates. Their consistent performance makes them suitable candidates for cultivation under late-sown conditions and valuable genetic material for developing mustard varieties with broad adaptability and stress tolerance.