Strengths and weaknesses of national variety trial data for multi-environment analysis: a case study on grain yield and protein content

Abstract

Multi-environment trial studies provide an opportunity for the detailed analysis of complex traits. However, conducting trials across a large number of regions can be costly and labor intensive. The Australian National Variety Trials (NVT) provide grain yield and protein content (GPC) data of over 200 wheat varieties in many and varied environments across the Australian wheat-belt and is representative of similar trials conducted in other countries. Through our analysis of the NVT dataset, we highlight the advantages and limitations in using these data to explore the relationship between grain yield and GPC in the low yielding environments of Australia. Eight environment types (ETs), categorized in a previous study based on the time and intensity of drought stress, were used to analyze the impact of drought on the relationship between grain yield and protein content. The study illustrates the value of comprehensive multi-environment analysis to explore the complex relationship between yield and GPC, and to identify the most appropriate environments to select for a favorable relationship. However, the NVT trial design does not follow the rigor associated with a normal genotype × environment study and this limits the accuracy of the interpretation.