Environmental resilience and yield stability in sweet sorghum: Unlocking dual-purpose potential for juice and green cane

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the stability and adaptability of green cane yield and related traits in twenty-three sweet sorghum genotypes and one hybrid across three contrasting sowing seasons-Kharif, Rabi, and Summer. The primary objective was to assess genotype × environment interaction (G×E) for key bioethanol-related traits including juice yield (l/ha), and green cane yield (t/ha). Stability analysis was performed using the Eberhart and Russell (1966) model, aiming to identify stable and high-performing genotypes suited for bioethanol production-a globally emerging renewable energy source due to the sugar-rich stalks of sweet sorghum. The results revealed significant environmental influence on trait performance. Kharif season exhibited positive environmental indices for juice yield and green cane yield traits, indicating it as the most favorable sowing season. In contrast, Rabi and Summer seasons showed negative environmental indicators for juice yield and green cane yield, suggesting environmental stress and reduced trait expression during these seasons. Stability analysis identified RSSV-594, RSSV-512, RSSV-585, RSSV-466, RSSV-509, and RSSV-589 as genotypes with average stability for juice yield, whereas CSH-47 showed below-average stability. Genotypes RSSV-552 and RSSV-313 exhibited unstable performance across environments. For green cane yield, genotypes RSSV-594, RSSV-512, RSSV-313, RSSV-509, and CSV-19SS were moderately stable, while RSSV-466, RSSV-635, and CSH-47 were unstable. Importantly, genotypes RSSV-512, RSSV-509, and RSSV-594 demonstrated high biomass production coupled with superior juice quality, making them promising candidates for dual-purpose use in bioethanol and grain yield under variable seasonal conditions. These findings underscore the importance of multi-seasonal evaluation and stability analysis in identifying sweet sorghum genotypes suitable for sustainable biofuel production.