Validation of the Taguchi method on the example of evaluation of willow biomass production factors under environmental stress

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Climate change requires the introduction of crop production technologies that guarantee stable yields under exposure to extreme weather events. The main focus should be on the reliability of yields, even if it implies a reduction in agricultural outputs. In the theory and practice of industrial experiments, Taguchi methods have been deployed to identify production technologies that are most resilient to the random effects of uncontrollable disrupting production factors. This is the first ever study where the Taguchi method was deployed in an agricultural field experiment to identify the levels of two fundamental production factors (genotype and planting density) that were most effective in stabilizing willow (Salix spp. L) biomass yields under variable uncontrollable abiotic and biotic stresses in annual harvest rotation. The analysis was based on the results noted in the first 12 consecutive years of a long-term field experiment in northern Poland. The results of the analysis involving the Taguchi method were validated under field conditions, and they were logical and consistent with the results of statistical analyses that are widely applied in this type of research. Uncontrollable stressors significantly influenced the levels of the least resilient production factors that were identified by the Taguchi method. The research assumptions were validated, which suggests that the Taguchi method could be considered in field experiments.