Mixed Model, AMMI and Eberhart-Russel Comparison via Simulation on Genotype × Environment Interaction Study in Sugarcane

Abstract

Brazil is the world leader in sugarcane production and the largest sugar exporter. Developing new varieties is one of the main factors that contribute to yield increase. In order to select the best genotypes, during the final selection stage, varieties are tested in different environments (locations and years), and breeders need to estimate the phenotypic performance for main traits such as tons of cane yield per hectare (TCH) considering the genotype × environment interaction (GEI) effect. Geneticists and biometricians have used different methods and there is no clear consensus of the best method. In this study, we present a comparison of three methods, viz. Eberhart-Russel (ER), additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and mixed model (REML/BLUP), in a simulation study performed in the R computing environment to verify the effectiveness of each method in detecting GEI, and assess the particularities of each method from a statistical standpoint. In total, 63 cases representing different conditions were simulated, generating more than 34 million data points for analysis by each of the three methods. The results show that each method detects GEI differently in a different way, and each has some limitations. All three methods detected GEI effectively, but the mixed model showed higher sensitivity. When applying the GEI analysis, firstly it is important to verify the assumptions inherent in each method and these limitations should be taken into account when choosing the method to be used.