Plot size and experimental precision for sunflower production

Leandro Homrich Lorentz,Alessandro Dal'Col Lúcio,Lindolfo Storck,Alexandra Augusti Boligon

doi:10.1590/s0103-90162010000400005

Leandro Homrich Lorentz, Alessandro Dal'Col Lúcio + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-90162010000400005

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Abstract

In order for sunflower cultivation to be economically sustainable, research should be based upon suitable experimental techniques. Since this kind of information is not readily available, the aim of this study was to estimate the seed production heterogeneity index and the optimal experimental plot size, and to verify experimental precision in sunflower experiments. Sunflower seed yield figures for plots of 1-meter rows (0.4 m spacing) were collected. The experiments were carried out in the 2004/05 and 2005/06 growing seasons in a 1-ha area, by marking out 12 randomized blocks (12 uniformity trials) of two rows 48 plots long on land used for commercial production of sunflowers in Bossoroca, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Plots of different sizes were simulated and estimates made for the mean, variance and coefficient of variance for each plot size, and the production heterogeneity index, optimal plot size and experimental precision estimated. The sunflower seed production heterogeneity index was high, the plots should be large and the rows are the blocks. The optimal plot size is two 3-meter rows (2.4 m²).

Highlights

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the five most grown oil crops in the world (Fagundes, 2007)
In Brazil, the most productive regions are in the Center Brazil, the Southeast (São Paulo - SP) and the South (Rio Grande do Sul - RS and Paraná - PR), and oil of excellent industrial and nutritional quality is produced (Leite et al, 2005)
There are many studies relating to sources of experimental error and the use of experimental techniques to eliminate error

Summary

Introduction

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the five most grown oil crops in the world (Fagundes, 2007). Due to the importance of the crop, research has been conducted to study sunflower seed productivity as a function of nitrogen fertilization (Castro et al, 1999), weed-control (Brighenti et al, 2006), irrigation (Santos et al, 2002), agronomic and morphological characteristics and forage potential (Tomich, 2003). Rossetti (2002), Viana et al (2002), Neto et al (2004), Lopes et al (2005), Martin et al (2005), Oliveira et al (2005), Oliveira et al (2006) and Storck et al (2006b) described applications of methods for determining optimal experimental techniques for a variety of crops. The experimental design to be used depends on the crop, the response under study, crop management, environment and other factors, such as the actual method used to determine the best design

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