Impact of Genotype × Environment Interactions on the Yield and Stability of Maize Hybrids in Serbia

Maize grain yield stability becomes one of the most important traits in modern maize breeding due to the variability of climatic elements. The objective of this work is to estimate the productivity of maize hybrids as well as their adaptability and grain yield stability in ten different growing environments across two growing seasons. The average grain yield ranged from 10.39 t ha⁻1 to 15.13 t ha⁻1. Hybrids ZP 457 and ZP 5090 performed good in both years. Stability analysis according to Eberhart and Russell method singled out ZP 457 as a stable hybrid, and Zombor and ZP 560 as the adaptable hybrids. According to the CV, ZP 457, ZP 427, ZP 5550, and ZP 5090 were identified as hybrids with good performance and stable yield. The “Which-Won-Where” biplot showed that ZP 5090 was the optimal hybrid for most tested environments, while ZP 500 was recommended for one location in 2019. According to the “Mean vs. Stability” biplot, ZP 5090 is the hybrid with the most stable and highest mean yield across the environments, while ZP 3071 had the lowest and least stable. Overall, ZP 5090 is the best performing hybrid in this trial. No environments that are both informative and representative are detected. Nonetheless, PO19 was selected as the ideal environment. Opposite of that, some environments that are non-informative (BT19) can be excluded from future trials. Based on the GGE biplot analyses, the suggestions on the regional distribution of tested hybrids are given. Simultaneously, parental lines for future breeding programs are recommended based on the SNP analysis. The obtained results are important not just for the maize producers and breeders in Serbia, but for the whole “European Corn Belt”, especially under climate change scenarios.