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Comparisons of the Performance of Sugar-cane Varieties in Trials and in Agriculture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

D. I. T. Walker  and
N. W. Simmonds
D. I. T. Walker
Affiliation:
West Indies Central Sugar Cane Breeding Station, Barbados, andEdinburgh School of Agriculture, Edinburgh, Scotland
N. W. Simmonds
Affiliation:
West Indies Central Sugar Cane Breeding Station, Barbados, andEdinburgh School of Agriculture, Edinburgh, Scotland
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Summary

Twelve varieties of sugar-cane grown in Barbados, West Indies, during the past 40 years are compared with respect to cane yield performance in trials and in agriculture. Comparisons are based on data-pairs matched for site, season and crop, using both means and variety-on-variety regressions. Conclusions are that: trials greatly over-estimate mean agricultural differences between varieties; variety-on-variety regressions reveal numerous GE effects and account for much variance, but agree poorly as between trials and agriculture and are not useful in improving prediction; in view of the universal use of trials for prediction and decision-making, it is a matter of some practical importance that their validity should be tested in other crops.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , April 1981 , pp. 137 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

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