The Sustainability Index and Other Stability Analyses for Evaluating Superior Fe-Tolerant Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper “The Used Sustainability Index and Other Stability Analysis For Evaluate Superior Rice Fe-Tolerant” addresses the combination of stability analysis of yields, which was thought to be accurate in selecting superior genotypes. It also identifies the effects of genotypes, environment, and their interactions (GEIs) on the yields of rice Fe-tolerant; selects superior genotypes (stable and high yields) under a variety of environmental conditions in Indonesia; and determines the mega-environment.

L2, 10: Title and abstract of the manuscript need to revise.

L11-15: The aim of the study may be written in a single sentence.

L30: Introduction is too short in the manuscript, it may be elaborated.

L102: Add geographic coordinates with the proper address of the study areas.

L208: Results of the experiment have been written well and rank of stability for 15 rice Fe-tolerant genotypes data need to recheck.

L296: For better understanding, the data and outcomes of the PCA analysis should be fully elaborated.  

L574: The conclusion has to be revised because it does not adequately support the findings. 

I strongly suggest that you spell out all abbreviations in the text the first time mentioned in the text. Cross-reference all of the citations in the text with the references in the reference section and ensure that all references have a corresponding citation within the text and vice versa. 

English needs to be improved, for which they must get the assistance of someone with a native command of the English language.

Author Response

Dear reviewer

We have read and studied the reviews from the reviewers. We have also revised the manuscript based on the suggestions of the reviewers.

Point 1: L2, 10: Title and abstract of the manuscript need to revise.

Response: we have revised the title and abstract

Pont 2: L11-15: The aim of the study may be written in a single sentence.

Response: We've written the aim of the study into one sentence.

Point 3: L30: Introduction is too short in the manuscript, it may be elaborated.

Response: We have elaborated the introduction section.

Point 4: L102: Add geographic coordinates with the proper address of the study areas.

Response: we have added geographic coordinates

Point 5: L208: Results of the experiment have been written well and rank of stability for 15 rice Fe-tolerant genotypes data need to recheck.

Response: Thank You. We've rechecked the rank of stability, and have fixed it.

Point 6: L296: For better understanding, the data and outcomes of the PCA analysis should be fully elaborated. 

Response: We have re-elaborated the results of the PCA analysis. 

Point 7: L574: The conclusion has to be revised because it does not adequately support the findings. 

I strongly suggest that you spell out all abbreviations in the text the first time mentioned in the text. Cross-reference all of the citations in the text with the references in the reference section and ensure that all references have a corresponding citation within the text and vice versa. 

Response: We have revised the conclusion section, and rechecked the reference using Mendeley.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

using the Sustainability Index and stability analysis to evaluate superior rice varieties for Fe-tolerance is important for addressing nutritional deficiencies, promoting sustainable agriculture, improving yield stability, advancing breeding programs, and informing policy decisions. It has the potential to contribute significantly to promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

With the aim of scientific publication, I have some comments and suggestions for quality improvement. 

General comments:

1.       Selection of rice varieties

The authors mentioned that the genotypes used here originated from plant breeding program at National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia. Little or no information was provided in relation to their capacity to Fe-tolerance. I proposed the authors choose a diverse set of rice varieties with varying degrees of Fe-tolerance. Include a range of commercial varieties as well as experimental lines.

2.       Experimental setup

The authors did well to use randomized complete block design (RCBD) to minimize potential biases. It is of good practice for each variety to constitute a treatment, and should have at least three replicates of each treatment to account for experimental variability. However, the authors failed to include Fe-treatment or tolerance threshold for the genotypes. Including or performing such could help determine the appropriate Fe-treatment for the experiment, which will be applied uniformly across all treatments/or pre-measured Fe-concentration from the respective fields. In addition, a control could be use that involved growing plants in soil or hydroponic systems supplemented with Fe at different concentrations or using Fe-chelates under a control parameters.

3.       Growth conditions

Experimental field across different locality shows that the growth conditions for all rice varieties throughout the experiment varies. In my opinion, it sounds the authors know the Fe-tolerance for each of the rice genotype and in this work was simply evaluating performance across rice growing regions. If this is the case, the manuscript requires rewriting.

4.       Tables

Please apply a three line table format across the article.

Specific comments:

1. Line 15: "The study used 15 genotypes of rice Fe-tolerant". I prefer 15 genotypes of Fe-tolerant rice was used for this study.

2. Line 16 and 17: "Field experiments were conducted at six environments in Indonesia using a randomized block design with two replications". Please rephrase six "experimental fields may be appropriate for six environments"

The language needs to be extensively check. I recommend reaching out to someone with high proficiency in written English.

Author Response

Pont 1. Selection of rice varieties

The authors mentioned that the genotypes used here originated from plant breeding program at National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia. Little or no information was provided in relation to their capacity to Fe-tolerance. I proposed the authors choose a diverse set of rice varieties with varying degrees of Fe-tolerance. Include a range of commercial varieties as well as experimental lines.

Response: We have added the information according to your suggestion.

Point 2. Experimental setup

The authors did well to use randomized complete block design (RCBD) to minimize potential biases. It is of good practice for each variety to constitute a treatment, and should have at least three replicates of each treatment to account for experimental variability. However, the authors failed to include Fe-treatment or tolerance threshold for the genotypes. Including or performing such could help determine the appropriate Fe-treatment for the experiment, which will be applied uniformly across all treatments/or pre-measured Fe-concentration from the respective fields. In addition, a control could be use that involved growing plants in soil or hydroponic systems supplemented with Fe at different concentrations or using Fe-chelates under a control parameters.

Response: Thank you for your advice. In this test, we focused on yield stability.

Point 3. Growth conditions

Experimental field across different locality shows that the growth conditions for all rice varieties throughout the experiment varies. In my opinion, it sounds the authors know the Fe-tolerance for each of the rice genotype and in this work was simply evaluating performance across rice growing regions. If this is the case, the manuscript requires rewriting.

Response: In this experiment, we focused on grain yields. The genotypes used had Fe tolerance

Point 4. Tables

Please apply a three line table format across the article.

Response: We have used three line table format across the article

Specific comments:

1. Line 15: "The study used 15 genotypes of rice Fe-tolerant". I prefer 15 genotypes of Fe-tolerant rice was used for this study.

Response: We have revised line 15

2. Line 16 and 17: "Field experiments were conducted at six environments in Indonesia using a randomized block design with two replications". Please rephrase six "experimental fields may be appropriate for six environments"

Response: We have rephrased line 16 and 17

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Manuscript has been significantly improved for publication.

.

Author Response

Review: Manuscript has been significantly improved for publication.

Response: Thank you very much

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

I am pleased to get a feedback with answers to the concerns raise in the previous version. Notwithstanding, there are still some sections to adjust. The concern pointed out concerning the table still persist. The presentation format of the tables are not consistent. For a three line table, the "top horizontal line is ticker". Kindly, check out all the tables.

Thank you very much.

The English language still requires some minor touches on sentence syntax.

Author Response

Review#point 1: I am pleased to get a feedback with answers to the concerns raise in the previous version. Notwithstanding, there are still some sections to adjust. The concern pointed out concerning the table still persist. The presentation format of the tables are not consistent. For a three line table, the "top horizontal line is ticker". Kindly, check out all the tables.

Thank you very much.

Response: We have checked all tables, and have revised the table that is not suitable (Table 9). Thank you

Review#point 2: The English language still requires some minor touches on sentence syntax.

Response: We have improved the English language. Thank you