STABILITY OF PERFORMANCE OF OKRA AS INFLUENCED BY PLANTING DATE

Fifteen selected okra genotypes, consisting of six from a pedigree breeding programme and nine established varieties as checks, were evaluated in five different environments for stability of performance. Performance was measured by pod yield per plant, number of days to flowering, final plant height, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant and edible pod weight. A regression method and a genotype grouping technique were employed in the evaluation. The results showed significant genotype .times. environment interaction only with respect to number of days to flowering and number of branches per plant. Additive environmental effect was significant for all characters. Line UI 303 was considered stable with respect to pod yield per plant and edible pod weight. One line resulting from the pedigree breeding programme was also considered stable by the genotype-grouping technique.