Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci. (2017). 4(6): 120-127 120 International Journal of Advanced Research in Biological Sciences ISSN: 2348-8069 www.ijarbs.com DOI: 10.22192/ijarbs Coden: IJARQG(USA) Volume 4, Issue 6 - 2017 Research Article Identification of drought tolerant progenies in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) 1 Ubara, U.E., 2 Agho, C.A., 1 Aye, A.I., 1 Yakubu, M., 1 Eke, C.R., and 1 Asemota, O 1 Physiology Division, Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR).P.M.B.1030, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. 2 Plant Breeding Division, Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR).P.M.B.1030, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Corresponding Author’s Email: collinsagho@yahoo.com, usiwo_ubara@yahoo.com Abstract An experiment was conducted at the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria to evaluate the adaptability and stability of five Oil Palm genotypes under different moisture deficit environments using GGE Biplotinorder to identify moisture stress tolerant genotypes at an early stage of development. Five Oil Palm genotypes which were second generation offspring from among NIFOR germplasm were evaluated in a 5 x 5 factorial of complete randomized design, replicated three times in a green house.Five environments representing four moisture stress levels and a non stressed condition were imposed on the genotypes and data were collected on the growth parameters after six months.The oil palm genotypes were notsignificantly different from one another with respect to dry matter yield.However, there were significant differences among the environments (p <0.01) with respect to dry matter yield. The response of the genotypes to the environments was also significantly different with respect to dry matter yield (p <0.05) suggesting that genotype by environment interaction influenced the performance of the genotypes.With respect to plant height, there were no significant differences among the genotypes.The non stressed environment was highest with respect to dry matter yield with a mean value of 64.27 while E5 (100% soil available water) had the lowest yield. The mean dry matter yield of all the stressed environments were not significantly different from one another but they were, however, significantly lower than that of the non stressed environment. The unstressed environment (E1) was significantly higher in dry matter yield with respect to other environments.The GGE biplot graphic analysis of the five oil palm genotypes tested at five environments which correspond to unstressed and the various stressed levels revealed that the first two principal components explained 86.1% of the total variance identified G5 as more favourable and adapted to drought stress conditions in comparison to other genotypes with respect to dry matter yield and its height was also not significantly different from other genotypes. E4 (environment corresponding to 75% of soil available water) was identified as good test environments for selecting generally adapted genotypes with respect to moisture stress.This information will be useful in identifying moisture stress tolerant Oil Palm genotypes at an early stage of development considering the long gestation period of Oil Palm for incorporation into the ongoing breeding programs. Keywords: Oil Palm, moisture stress, GGE Biplot, and stability. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22192/ijarbs.2017.04.06.018