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When we run a field trial in agriculture or an experiment in the glasshouse or laboratory, we need to look at the environment and see what are the characteristics of that particular site:

 

  • Are there gradients (left to right, or back to front) in the site?

  • Is there shade in the field on a particular part of the day? This can be affected by buildings and trees or hedges nearby.

  • Is there a soil depth difference across the field?

  • Is there a difference (gradient) in soil water holding capacity, across the field.

Blocks of land can be placed perpendicular to a known field (or glasshouse) gradient. If done correctly, and the plots within a block are similar (for that source of variation)  the  sums of squares can be partitioned, and block is added to the model. The estimation of  the treatment effects are improved. An example of this design is a randomised complete block design.

A gradient  is a systematic increase or decrease in a value such as heat, cold, textural soil properties or soil water holding capacity.

 

DESIGNED FIELD TRIALS
(Click on the small pictures to open or download files )

Designs and Layout

 

Designs and layout

 

Sites of Interest for Design of Experiments

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