Biplot analysis of multi-environment trial data: Principles and applications

Biplot analysis has evolved into an important statistical tool in plant breeding and agricultural research. Here we review the basic principles of biplot analysis and recent developments in its application in analyzing multi-environment trail (MET) data, with the aim of providing a working guide for breeders, agronomists, and other agricultural scientists on biplot analysis and interpretation. The review is divided into four sections. The first section is a complete but succinct description of the principles of biplot analysis. The second section is a detailed treatment of biplot analysis of genotype by environment data. It addresses environment and genotype evaluation from all perspectives. The third section deals with biplot analysis of various two-way tables that can be generated from a three-way MET dataset, which is an integral and essential part to a fuller understanding and exploration of MET data. The final section discusses questions that are frequently asked about biplot analysis. Methods described in this review are available in a user-friendly, interactive software package called “GGEbiplot”. Key words: biplot analysis; genotype by environment interaction; mega-environment; multi-environment trials