Evaluating the Precision of Faba Bean Field Experiments

Abstract

Two field experiments were conducted at Giza Research Station, ARC, Egypt, during 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons. Twenty faba bean genotypes were evaluated in this study in an Alpha Lattice design with three replications for seven traits. The aim was to assess the efficiency of two experimental designs to minimizing experimental error and the coefficient of variation for yield variable, and to identify the more suitable design. Thus, data were analyzed according to alpha lattice design and randomized complete blocks design (RCBD). The results showed an improvement in the precision level thought decline in both the mean square error and the coefficient of variation. The relative efficiency (R.E.%) of trials showed that alpha lattice design was more efficient than RCBD. The estimated average of R.E.% indicated that the use of alpha lattice design instead of RCBD increased the experimental accuracy by 10. 46, 8.01, 22.47, 13.60, 17.56 and 55.00% for days to 50% maturity, plant height, number of branches/plant, 100-seed weight, seed yield/plant and seed yield ard/fed, respectively. Mean rank comparisons for both randomized complete block and alpha lattice design were performed. Data showed that the ranks for both designs were not constant across the experiments. Generally, the results showed that the traditional RCBD should be replaced by alpha lattice in the agricultural field trials when the number of treatments tested in an experiment is high, where a homogeneous block is quite difficult to find in field experiments. Results performed that the estimation of heritability according to alpha lattice was higher than the RCBD; therefore, the results indicated a greater efficiency for alpha design, enabling more precise estimates of genotypic variance, greater precision in the prediction of heritability in broad sense.

Multivariate analysis for yield and yield-related traits of amaranth genotypes from Ethiopia

“…The experiment was carried out using an imperfect random block design known as an alpha lattice, which involved several investigators [ 27 , 28 ]. Alpha lattice design, as compared to RCBD, is a significant incomplete block design group (IBD) variant that can lower experimental error by removing variability between small blocks, limiting unknown variation within each replication, and so enhancing field trial efficiency [ 29 ].…”