TWO TYPES OF EXPERIMENTS

• Single Factor Experiments - several levels of one

factor are being tested while keeping all other factors
at a constant level.
Presentation
Introduction Title Goes Designs
to Experimental Here
…presentation subtitle. Example: Varietal trial - several varieties are tested
under uniform management and cultural practices.

Violeta Bartolome • Multi-factor or factorial experiments - test two or

Senior Associate Scientist-Biometrics
Crop Research Informatics Laboratory more factors simultaneously.
International Rice Research Institute
Example: Testing five varieties under four
nitrogen rates.

:: color, composition, and layout

Experimental designs applicable

Completely Randomized Design (CRD)
to single-factor experiments
• Complete Block Design (completely randomized,
randomized complete block and latin square • Appropriate only for experiments with no obvious
designs). heterogeneity between experimental units.
o generally used for experiments with a small • Any difference among experimental units receiving
number of treatments. the same treatment is considered as experimental
o characterized by blocks, each of which contains error.
the complete set of treatments.
• Treatments are assigned completely at random so
• Incomplete Block Designs (lattices, alpha-lattice, and that each experimental unit has the same chance of
group balanced block designs).
receiving each of the treatments.
o generally used for experiments with a large
number of treatments.
o characterized by blocks, each of which contains
only a fraction of the treatments to be tested.
:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout
A field experiment is to be conducted in CRD with 5
treatments and 4 replications. How do you make the
layout?
Step1: Divide
the area into 5
trts x 4 reps = 20
plots.

Near homogeneous area

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout

Randomized Complete Block Design

T1 T4 T3 T5 Step2: On 20 (RCB)
pieces of paper,
T3 T2 T5 T1 write treatment • When the experimental units are not homogeneous and it is
numbers and put possible to group the experimental units into blocks such that
experimental units within each block are more homogeneous
T4 T2 T1 T3 in box. than those between blocks.
Step3: Assign
treatment on • The presence of blocks, each containing all the treatments, is
T1 T5 T4 T2 the primary distinguishing feature of the RCB design.
each plot by
drawing lots.
T2 T5 T3 T4

In CRD, the treatments are assigned completely at random

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout

 An experiment is to be conducted in RCB with 5 fertility gradient
treatments and 4 replications. How do you make
the layout? T4 T5 T2 T4 First, divide the field
fertility gradient into 4 equal parts, each
part representing one
T1 T3 T3 T5
block.

T3 T1 T5 T3 Next, divide each block

into 5 equal parts, each
part representing one
T2 T4 T4 T1 plot.
Then randomly
T5 T2 T1 T2 assign the 5
treatments to the 5
plots in each block.
Block I Block II Block III Block IV

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout

Advantage of RCB
Latin Square
Block
Variation
• Capacity to simultaneously handle two known
sources of variation.
• A treatment appears only once in each row or
CRD ERROR column.
• To randomize, use basic plans found in some
RCBD ERROR statistics book.
• Number of treatments should be equal to number of
replications.
Experimental error is minimized by • Very seldom used in agricultural experiment.
removing block variation from the error.
:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout
 Example of LATIN SQUARE layout Advantage of Latin Square
fertility gradient
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Block
Row
Variation
Variation

T1 T2 T4 T3 Row 1
Column
Variation

T3 T4 T1 T2 Row 2 Latin Square Error

RCBD ERROR

T2 T1 T3 T4 Row 3

T4 T3 T2 T1 Row 4 Experimental error is minimized by

removing row and column variations
:: color, composition, and layout
from the error. :: color, composition, and layout

FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTS
Advantages of factorial experiments
Two or more factors are tested simultaneously.
Example: • Provide for examination of interaction
among the various factors tested.
2 levels of Variety (V1, V2)
3 levels of Land Preparation (L1, L2, L3)
• Economical by comparison to several single factor
The treatments are: experiments.
V1L1 V1L2 V1L3
V2L1 V2L2 V2L3
• Broadens applicability of main effect
conclusions.

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout

Designs Applicable To Factorial An experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Varieties is to be conducted
in a RCB design in 3 replications. How do you make the layout?
Experiments
• Completely Randomized Design V2 V4 V3 V1 V4 V2 V3 V1 V3 V1 V4 V2
60 30 90 120 60 120 90 60 60 120 120 90
• Randomized Complete Block Design
V4 V2 V1 V3 V3 V1 V4 V2 V2 V1 V3 V1
• Latin Square Design
90 30 60 0 0 120 120 0 120 0 30 90
• Split Plot Family of Designs
V3 V4 V2 V3 V2 V3 V2 V3 V2 V4 V3 V4
• Strip Plot Family of Designs 30 120 0 120 30 120 30 120 0 30 120 0

V1 V2 V4 V2 V1 V2 V3 V1 V4 V2 V3 V1
30 120 0 90 30 90 60 90 30 60 0 30

V4 V1 V3 V1 V4 V2 V4 V3 V1 V4 V2 V3
60 90 60 0 0 60 90 30 60 90 30 90

:: color, composition, and layout

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3
:: color, composition, and layout

An experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Varieties is to be conducted in a

Split-plot design in 3 replications. How do you make the layout?

Split-Plot Design
30
• Has two plot sizes: the larger one is called mainplot and the
smaller one subplot.
• Precision for the comparison of the subplot treatments is 60
expected to be higher than that for the mainplot treatments.
• Smaller difference can be detected among subplot treatments
90
than among mainplot treatments.

120

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3
An experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Varieties is to be conducted in a
Split-plot design in 3 replications. How do you make the layout?

30 0 60
30 0 60

60 90 120
60 90 120

90 30 90
90 30 0

0 120 0
0 120 0

120 60 30
120 60 30
Block 1 Block 2 Block 3
:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout
Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

V2 V3 30V1 V4 0 60 V2 V3 30 V1 V4 V4 V2 0 V1 V3 V2 V3 60 V4 V1

60 90 120 V3 V4 60V2 V1 V3 V4 90 V2 V1 V4 V3120V2 V1

90 30 90 V2 V1 90 V4 V3 V4 V1 30 V3 V2 V1 V4 90 V3 V2

0 120 0 V4 V3 0 V2 V1 V2 V3120V4 V1 V3 V2 0 V1 V4

120 60 30 V1 V2120V3 V4 V1 V2 60V4 V3 V4 V1 30 V3 V2

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout
Possible Reasons for Using Split-Plot Strip-Plot Design

• Management requirement: some treatments such as
water management is easier to manage in bigger
plot.
• Insertion of an additional factor into an established
experiment.
• Need to increase precision on the effect of one factor
at the expense of another.
• Higher degree of precision is given to the
measurement of the interaction effect than main
effects.
• Horizontal and vertical plots are perpendicular to
each other. There is no relationship between their
sizes.
• Can accommodate two mechanical factors.

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout

Suppose an experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Water Levels is to be Suppose an experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Water levels to be
conducted in a Strip-plot design in 3 replications. How do you make the conducted in a Strip-plot design in 3 replications. How do you make the
layout? layout?

30 30 90 0

120 120 60 30

90 90 30 60

0 0 120 120

60 60 0 90

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

:: color, composition, and layout Block 1 Block 2 Block 3
:: color, composition, and layout
W1 W3 W4 W2 W1 W3 W4 W2 W3 w 4 W1 W2 W3 W2 W1 W4

30 90 0 30 90 0

120 60 30 120 60 30

90 30 60 90 30 60

0 120 120 0 120 120

60 0 90 60 0 90

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 1 Block 2 Block 3

:: color, composition, and layout :: color, composition, and layout