Yield components of triploid and tetraploid Musa genotypes in Nigeria

The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model was u sed to evaluate the stability patterns of 36 Musa genotypes in four croppin g environments for bunch weight, pulp weight, and dry matter content. Alley cropping generally induced higher means for all traits than did sole croppi ng. The triploid plantains produced smaller bunch weights and were less sta ble than dessert and cooking bananas. In this ploidy group, bunch weight wa s highest for the cooking bananas 'Cardaba' and 'Fougamou', but only 'Fouga mou' was stable across environments. Among the hybrids, only 'FHIA23' (dess ert banana) expressed high and stable bunch weights, while other high-yield ing hybrids displayed specific adaptation to alleycropping. Pulp weight was lower but more stable in plantains than in other triploid genotypes, Among the hybrids, pulp weight was high and stable for one cooking banana ('FHIA 3'), one dessert banana ('FHIA1'), and three plantains ('PITA1','PITA2', an d 'PITA7'). Dry matter content was highest in plantains and lowest in desse rt bananas at both triploid and tetraploid levels, and was also more stable than the other traits. Thus, the adaptation patterns of genotypes across e nvironments varied according to the trait studied. When rank changes were n ot observed across traits for a given genotype, differences were still note d in the relative magnitude of the IPCA1 score. Hence, both farm gate trait s and postharvest processing traits should be considered in selecting for b road or specific adaptation. Determination of the genetic relationships bet ween processing traits and farm gate traits could allow Musa breeders to co nstruct selection indices that would facilitate multiple trait selection an d enhance breeding efficiency, with respect to cultivar stability and adapt ation across environments.