Experimental Design for Variety Trials and Breeding Nurseries

This chapter discusses a basic aspect of variety trials and breeding nurseries, that is, experimental design. This includes designs for different levels of variety and breeding trials, balanced multilocation trials, unbalanced augmented trials, unrandomized nurseries, and experimental plans for earlier generations in the breeding cycle. The chapter demonstrates the user‐friendly GGEbiplot modules for generating the following experimental designs: randomized complete blocks design (RCBD), incomplete blocks design (ICBD), augmented design (AD), row‐column design, AD with varying number of replicates (partially replicated variety trials), and unrandomized breeding nurseries. It discusses the plans for breeding line increase and plans for generation advancement, and the naming of new crosses and renaming breeding lines.