title: Non-parametric approach to the study of phenotypic stability.
abstract: The aim of this study was to undertake the theoretical derivations of non-parametric methods, which use linear regressions based on rank order, for stability analyses. These methods were extension different parametric methods used for stability analyses and the result was compared with a standard non-parametric method. Intensive computational methods (e.g., bootstrap and permutation) were applied, and data from the plant-breeding program of the Biology Department of UFLA (Minas Gerais, Brazil) were used to illustrate and compare the tests. The non-parametric stability methods were effective for the evaluation of phenotypic stability. In the presence of variance heterogeneity, the non-parametric methods exhibited greater power of discrimination when determining the phenotypic stability of genotypes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Agricultura, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Bruzi
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: M A P
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ramalho
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D027805:Phaseolus / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D000069600:Plant Breeding