Adaptability and Genotypic Stability of Sweet Sorghum in the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

The global demand for renewable sources fuel has rapidly increased in the past years. Sweet sorghum has stood out for being of technically and economically viable alternative for supplying raw materials to distilleries. This research aimed to select, simultaneously, pre-commercial sweet sorghum hybrids with high adaptability and stability, via mixed models, in six different environments. The experiments were conducted in the off-season of 2015/16 and 2016/17 in environments of the Brazilian Cerrado. Sixteen pre-commercial sweet sorghum hybrids were evaluated. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with three replications. In each trial, fresh and dry matter yield, soluble solids content, and ethanol yield were evaluated. The variance components were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood. For each trait, the simultaneous selection for stability and adaptability was performed by the statistics of the harmonic mean of the relative performance of genetic values. Genotype × environment interaction was recorded significant for all the traits. Among the sorghum hybrids evaluated, N43A1001 stood out for obtaining the highest genotypic means for the evaluated traits, besides showing adaptability and stability for these traits. Therefore, this study demonstrated the possibility of obtaining high ethanol yield from sweet sorghum cultivated in the sugarcane off-season, in the Brazilian Cerrado, that would help and reduce the high fluctuation of ethanol’s supply and price in the Brazilian market.