Resilience of pea genotypes issued from different selection methods in Algerian subhumid condition

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a key crop for animal feed, especially in rainfed agricultural systems. It stands out for its high protein content, storability, and flexibility in concentrate feed formulations, offering potential to enhance feed self-sufficiency in livestock production. To ensure its integration and sustainability under climate change, selecting resilient varieties is essential. Genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) strongly influences yield in Mediterranean regions, requiring optimized selection methods to manage climatic variability. This study evaluated 37 field pea genotypes, including 30 pure lines derived from genomic and phenotypic selection,three evolutionary populations, 3 parental varieties, and one control. Trials were conducted over three cropping seasons (2021–2024) using a randomized complete block design with three replications. AMMI analyses revealed significant effects of genotype, environment, and their interaction on grain yield. Variance analysis showed that 50.26% of yield variation was due to environment, 7.22% to genotype, and 16.75% to GEI. These results were confirmed by the analysis of variance components. In contrast to other years, the 2022–2023 season revealed differences in yield between genomic and phenotypic selection lines across regions. Lines from the Algiers region were most productive, with a 2.54% yield increase over the mean of the parental lines. While not all genotypes from genomic selection showed stability, those that did were consistently superior to the reference mean yield. This study highlights the potential of genomic selection (GS) to improve pea breeding efficiency compared to phenotypic selection (PS), as the 2 top-performing genotypes were products of GS.