Exploring the Phenotypic Stability of Soybean Seed Compositions Using Multi-Trait Stability Index Approach

Abstract

In order to ensure an ongoing and long-term breeding progress of soybean, stable sources of major quality traits across multi-environments need to be identified. Here, a panel of 135 soybean genotypes was tested in three different Chinese environments, including Beijing, Anhui, and Hainan during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons to identify stable genotypes for cultivation under varying environmental conditions. The weighted average of absolute scores biplot (WAASB) for the best linear unbiased predictions of the genotype-environment interaction and multi-trait stability index (MTSI) were utilized to determine the stability of the soybeans for seven seed composition traits viz; protein content, oil content, and five fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids). Based on the WAASB index, the following genotypes were identified as stable genotypes for some specific traits; ZDD12828 and ZDD12832 for protein content, WDD01583 and WDD03025 for oil content, ZDD23040 for palmitic acid, WDD00033 for stearic acid, ZDD23822 for oleic acid, ZDD11183 for linoleic acid, and ZDD08489 for linolenic acid. Furthermore, based on MTSI at a selection intensity of 10%, 14 soybean genotypes were selected for their average performance and stability. Overall, the MTSI was shown to be a powerful and simple tool for identifying superior genotypes in terms of both performance and stability, hence, identifying stable soybean genotypes for future breeding programs of quality traits.