International Journal of Plant & Soil Science

Multi-environment testing remains central to identifying pearl millet genotypes that perform predictably under climatic variability. We evaluated 83 entries—60 F₁ hybrids, 19 parental lines and four checks (PA9385, 9444, 86M20 and 86M22)—during Summer 2024 at Deesa, Palanpur and Tharad (Gujarat) using a Randomized block design with three replications for twelve agronomic and nutritional traits. Pooled ANOVA revealed significant environment effects and genotype × environment interactions (G × E) for key traits including plant height, panicle length, 1000-grain weight, zinc content, fodder yield and grain yield per plant, justifying stability analysis. Environmental indices indicated Palanpur as an overall favourable site; Deesa supported taller plants, higher harvest index and elevated Fe/Zn; Tharad predominantly favoured earliness. Stability was analyzed following Eberhart & Russell (1966), interpreting bi relative to unity and S²di as predictability. The study revealed substantial genetic variability among parents and hybrids for yield and micronutrient traits across environments. Overall, PMPF-4 × PMPR-13 was identified as the best-performing hybrid for grain yield, whereas PMPF-1 × PMPR-1 for iron and PMPF-1 × PMPR-15 / PMPF-3 × PMPR-5 for zinc content showed stable and desirable performance across environments, making them promising genotypes for both productivity and micronutrient improvement.