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A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SUGARCANE VARIETY SELECTION IN SOUTH AFRICA BASED ON GENOTYPE-BY-ENVIRONMENT ANALYSES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2009

S. RAMBURAN ,
A. PARASKEVOPOULOS ,
G. SAVILLE  and
M. JONES
S. RAMBURAN*
Affiliation:
South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Private Bag X02, Mount Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa
A. PARASKEVOPOULOS
Affiliation:
South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Private Bag X02, Mount Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa
G. SAVILLE
Affiliation:
South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Private Bag X02, Mount Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa
M. JONES
Affiliation:
South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Private Bag X02, Mount Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa
*
†Corresponding author. Sanesh.Ramburan@sugar.org.za
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Summary

The objective of this study was to develop a basic variety selection decision support system (DSS) based on industry legalities, varietal characteristics and structured genotype-by-environment (G × E) analyses. Trial data extracted from a variety trial database at the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) were categorized into different regions, harvest ages (12, 18, 24 months) and harvest seasons (early, mid, late season harvests). Restricted maximum likelihood analyses were conducted regionally to determine varietal adaptability to different harvest ages and seasons. Highly significant variety × harvest age and variety × season interactions allowed for the appropriate categorization of varieties. Varietal adaptability to different yield potential conditions was determined using the sites regression technique, and varietal adaptability was interpreted from the slope of the regression curves. The analysed data were used to create simplistic ‘yes/no’ spreadsheets, which were housed within a relational database. A web interface linked to the database allows users to specify characteristics of their production environment. The system then selects appropriate varieties that conform to specified criteria and eliminates non-compliers in a stepwise approach. The system was subsequently validated against expert extension specialist opinion and acceptable performance was observed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 243 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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