Environmental stratification and performance of Coffea canephora clones grown in the Western Amazon.

Change in the performance of clones grown in different environments is an important question for Coffea canephora breeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate environmental stratification and the performance of C. canephora clones grown in the Western Amazon. For that purpose, the mean yield of three crop seasons was considered to evaluate the performance of 20 genotypes grown in 6 clonal competition trials in the environments of: E1: Ouro Preto do Oeste-RO, E2: Porto Velho-RO, E3: Ariquemes-RO, E4 and E5: Rio Branco-AC and E6: Alta Floresta do Oeste-RO. The trials were conducted with a plant spacing of 3 m × 1.5 m in a complete block experimental design, with three replications of eight plants per plot. Combined analysis indicated significance of the genotype × environment (G×E) interaction and favorable conditions to obtain gains from selection. Reduction in the dimensionality estimated from climate and soil characteristics indicated that the environments of Porto Velho-RO, Rio Branco-AC and Ariquemes-RO are more similar to each other than the environments of Ouro Preto do Oeste-RO and Alta Floresta-RO of greater natural soil fertility and higher altitude. The AMMI1 biplot shows that genotypes 16, 10, and 13 had the highest mean yields, together with greater stability. In the AMMI2 scatterplot (IPCA1×IPCA2), the environments E4 and E5 were clustered in the same sector. Clustering based on the complex fraction of the G×E interaction coincided with the AMMI2 scatterplot that clustered the E4 and E5 environments in a single mega-environment. Except for these environments, all the others clustered as locations of different biotic and abiotic stress conditions. This result shows the importance of maintaining evaluations in these environments, which represent the conditions of the coffee fields in the region