Centre for Statistical & Survey Methodology Working Paper Series

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

This paper provides an approach for the design and analysis of variety trials that are used to obtain quality trait data. These trials are multi-phase in nature, comprising a field phase followed by one or more laboratory phases. Typically the laboratory phases are costly relative to the field phase and this necessitates a limit on the number of samples that can be tested. Historically, this has been achieved by sacrificing field replication, either by testing a single replicate plot for each variety or a single composite sample, obtained by combining material from several field replicates. An efficient statistical analysis cannot be applied to such data so that valid inference and accurate prediction of genetic effects is precluded. In this paper we propose an approach in which some varieties are tested using individual field replicate samples and others as composite samples. Replication in the laboratory is achieved by splitting a relatively small number of field samples into sub-samples for separate processing. We show that, if necessary, some of the composite samples may be split for this purpose. We also show that, given a choice of field compositing and laboratory replication strategy, an efficient design for a laboratory phase may be obtained using model-based techniques. The methods are illustrated using two examples.

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