Analysis of growth and performance of abaca bunchy top virus-resistant abaca (Musa textilis Nee) hybrids in selected locations in the Philippines

The three abaca genotypes had different performances in the seven locations tested. Significant differences were found in the agronomic characteristics measured. BC sub 2-7 showed the best performance among the three genotypes in terms of growth-related agronomic characteristics, while Tinawagang Pula had the poorest performance. The prolificacy of Tinawagang Pula surpassed the abaca hybrids but may have affected the growth negatively. Furthermore, increases in the production of suckers may indicate the presence of stresses such as diseases. However, Tinawagang Pula outperformed the hybrids in terms of fiber yield and fiber recovery. This finding can be attributed to the higher tensile strength of the pure abaca genotype compared with the hybrids that have a portion of wild banana in their genetic make-up. The effect of tensile strength on the percent fiber recovery was evident in the comparison of the three genotypes under different climate types, that is, higher fiber recovery was observed when fibers have higher tensile strength. Moreover, the extreme values observed in Tinawagang Pula in some environments affected the overall result of yield-related characteristics.Eberhart and Russell's regression and deviation from the regression identified BC sub 2-2 as more stable genotype, showing that hybrids can perform better than Tinawagang Pula under unfavorable environments. However, Kang's rank sum and Nassar and Huehn's four stability measures identified BC sub 2-7 as the most stable among the three genotypes. Ideal locations for each genotype were also determined using the GGE Biplot. Tinawagang Pula was adapted in the top four ideal environments: North Cotabato, Leyte, Agusan del Norte, and Albay. BC sub 2-2 was the most adapted in Davao del Norte and Laguna. Moreover, BC sub 2-7 was the only genotype adapted to Catanduanes, which was the least favorable environment. The two GGE biplots also identified BC sub 2-7 as the most stable genotype. The results, therefore confirmed the stability of BC sub 2-7.