EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS USED IN RICE RESEARCH

Learning Objective

At the end of this lesson, the participants should be able to

• identify the advantages and disadvantages of using each of the following

designs:
- completely randomized design
- randomized complete block design
- latin square design
- split plot design
- strip plot design
• layout an experiment using any of the above designs; and
• understand and learn what proper blocking is.

Introduction

Completely Randomized and Randomized Complete Block Designs are the most
common designs. The Completely Randomized Design is used when the experimental
units are nearly homogenous. On the other hand, when the variability to be controlled is
unidirectional, say fertility gradient, then the Randomized Complete Block Design is
used.

Other designs arise in consequence of various features of the treatments, constraints of

land or other resources or concentration of interest. For example:

1. Variability to be controlled is in two directions: Latin Squares

2. Number of treatments exceeds convenient block size: Incomplete Block Designs

3. Treatment structure is according to a combination of two or more factors (factorial

experiment) but certain factors must go on larger units or additional treatments must
be incorporated into an existing experiment or (more rarely)

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 97

4. higher precision is wanted on some types of comparison than on others: Split-plot
and Strip-plot Designs

5. A factorial experiment but the total number of treatment combinations exceeds

practicable size of experiment: Fractional Factorial Designs

Completely Randomized Design

This is the simplest type of design. The treatments are assigned completely at random so
that each experimental unit has the same chance of receiving each of the treatments. In
addition the units should be processed in random order at all subsequent stages of the
experiment where this order is likely to affect results (Cochran and Cox, 1957).

For the CRD, any difference among experimental units receiving the same treatment is
considered an experimental error. Hence, the CRD is only appropriate for experiments
with homogenous experimental units.

Advantages of the Design

This design has several conveniences:

1. Flexible. Any number of treatments and replicates may be used. The number of
replications may vary from treatment to treatment in order to place more emphasis on
treatments of special interest.

2. Easy to analyze even if the number of replicates is not the same from treatment to
treatment.

3. The method of analysis remains simple even if results of some units are missing or
rejected. In addition, the relative loss of information due to missing data is smaller
than in other designs.

Disadvantages of the Design

The disadvantage of a Completely Randomized Design is that it is usually suited only for
small numbers of treatments and for homogenous experimental materials. When large
numbers of treatments are included, a relatively large amount of experimental material
must be used. This generally increases the variation among treatment responses and thus
makes the experimental error large. This error may be reduced with the use of a different
design, unless the units are highly homogenous or the experimenter has no information by
which to arrange or handle the units in more homogenous groups.

98 Completely Randomized Design

CRD is seldom used for field experiments because experience has shown other designs to
be more suitable.

Layout of the Design

The term layout refers to the assignment of experimental treatments on the experimental
site whether it be over space, time or type of material. The whole of the experimental
area or material is partitioned into a number of experimental units, say, N. A random
selection of r1 experimental units is made and one of the t treatments is applied to these
units. A random selection of r2 of the remaining N-r1 experimental units is made and one
of the remaining t-1 treatments is applied to these particular units. This procedure
continues until all treatments have been applied. When each treatment is replicated an
equal number of times, r1=r2=...=rv=r and Σri=rt=N experimental units. Unless practical
limitations dictate otherwise, such as scarcity of units, or unless some treatments are more
variable or are of greater interest than others, equal replication for each treatment is
recommended.

For example, if an experiment with five treatments replicated four times is to be

conducted in a Completely Randomized Design, the layout may be as follows:

T4 T5 T3 T2

T3 T1 T4 T5

T5 T2 T3 T1

T2 T5 T1 T3

T4 T2 T4 T1

Randomized Complete Block Design

The Randomized Complete Block Design is characterized by blocks of equal sizes, each
containing a complete set of all treatments. Each block constitutes a replicate. At all
stages of the experiment the objective is to keep the experimental errors within

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 99

each block as small as practicable. Thus, during the course of the experiment, a uniform
technique should be employed in all experimental units within a group. Any changes in
technique or conditions that may affect the results should be made between groups.

In RCB design, the assumption is that there is no treatment × block interaction. That is,
on the average, treatments have the same effect in each block.

Blocking Technique

The primary purpose of blocking is to reduce experimental error by eliminating the

contribution of known sources of variation among experimental unit. This is done by
grouping the experimental units into blocks such that variability within each block is
minimized and variability among blocks is maximized. Because only the variability
within a block becomes part of the experimental error, blocking is most effective when
the experimental area has a predictable pattern of variability. With a predictable pattern,
plot shape and block orientation can be chosen so that much of the variation is accounted
for by the difference among blocks, and experimental plots within the same block are
kept as uniform as possible.

There are two important decisions that have to be made in arriving at an appropriate and
effective blocking technique. These are:

• The selection of the source of variability to be used as the basis for blocking.

• The selection of the block shape and orientation.

An ideal source of variation to use as the basis for blocking is one that is large and highly
predictable. Examples are:

• Soil heterogeneity, in a fertilizer or variety trial where yield data is the primary
character of interest.

• Direction of insect migration, in an insecticide trial where insect infestation is the

primary character of interest.

• Slope of the field, in a study of plant reaction to water stress.

After identifying the specific source of variability to be used as the basis for blocking, the
size and shape of the blocks must be selected to maximize variability among blocks. The
guidelines for this decision are:

1. When the gradient is unidirectional (i.e., there is only one gradient), use long and
narrow blocks. Furthermore, orient these blocks so their length is perpendicular to
the direction of the gradient.

100 Randomized Complete Block Design

2. When the fertility gradient occurs in two directions with one gradient much stronger
than the other, ignore the weaker gradient and follow the preceding guideline for the
case of the unidirectional gradient.

3. When the fertility gradient occurs in two directions with both gradients equally strong
and perpendicular to each other, choose one of these alternatives:

• Use blocks that are square as possible.

• Use long and narrow blocks with their length perpendicular to the direction of one
gradient and use the covariance technique to take care of the other gradient.

• Use latin square design with two-way blocking, one for each gradient.

4. When the pattern of variability is not predictable, blocks should be as square as

possible.

Advantages of the Design

The advantages of this design are:

1. Accuracy. This design has been known to be more accurate than the Completely
Randomized Design for most types of experimental work provided the blocking has
been correctly applied, that is, units within block are more similar than those between
blocks.

2. Flexibility. There is no restriction on the number of treatments and replications. At

least two replicates are required to obtain tests of significance. In addition, some
treatments may be included more than once to increase precision of their
measurements with little complication to the analysis.

3. Ease of analysis. The statistical analysis is simple and easy to perform. Moreover,
the error of any treatment comparison may be isolated and any number of treatments
may be omitted from the analysis without complicating it. These features may be
useful when certain treatment differences turn out to be very large, when some
treatments produce failure or when the experimental errors for the various
comparisons are heterogeneous.

Disadvantages of the Design

The chief disadvantage of the Randomized Complete Block Design is that it is not
suitable for large numbers of treatments or for cases in which the complete blocks contain

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 101

considerable variability. Another small disadvantage is that some resources of the
experiment are used to estimate block effects. If there are no differences between blocks
these resources are wasted.

Layout of the Design

When the experimental units have been blocked, the treatments are assigned at random to
the units within each group. A new randomization is made for each block group. Using
the same example as in the Completely Randomized Design, the layout may look as
follows:

Block I Block II Block III Block IV

T2 T5 T1 T2

T3 T1 T4 T5

T5 T4 T3 T1

T4 T2 T5 T3

T1 T3 T2 T4

Latin Square Design

The Latin Square Design has the capability to block an area in two directions. The name
was derived from an ancient puzzle that is concerned with the number of different ways
Latin letters can be arranged in a square matrix so that each letter appears once and only
once in each row and each column.

The effect of the double blocking is to eliminate from the experimental error differences
among rows and differences among columns before comparing the treatments. Thus the
Latin Square provides more opportunity than Randomized Blocks for the reduction of
error by skillful planning.

102 Latin Square Design

Advantages of the Design

The advantages of a Latin Square design are:

1. With a two-way blocking, the Latin Square controls more of the variation than the
Completely Randomized or Randomized Complete Block Designs. The two-way
elimination of variation often results in a small error mean square.

2. The analysis is simple; it is only slightly more complicated than that for the
Randomized Complete Block Design.

Disadvantages of the Design

The major disadvantage of the Latin Square Design is that the number of treatments must
equal the number of replications. If the number of treatments becomes very large, the
number of replications required becomes impractical. Like the RCB design, but to a
larger extent, some resources are used to estimate row and column effects. These are
wasted if the material is homogenous. In small squares this is a serious restriction
because not enough degrees of freedom for estimating the experimental error unless
squares themselves are replicated.

Layout of the Design

Examples of Latin Squares are shown below:

3×3 4×4
1 2 3 4
A B C A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D
B C A B A D C B C D A B D A C B A D C
C A B C D B A C D A B C A D B C D A B
D C A B D A B C D C B A D C B A

5×5 6×6 7×7

A B C D E A B C D E F A B C D E F G
B A E C D B F D C A E B C D E F G A
C D A E B C D E F B A C D E F G A B
D E B A C D A F E C B D E F G A B C
E C D B A E C A B F D E F G A B C D
F E B A D C F G A B C D E
G A B C D E F

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 103

 8×8 9×9
A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H I
B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H I A
C D E F G H A B C D E F G H I A B
D E F G H A B C D E F G H I A B C
E F G H A B C D E F G H I A B C D
F G H A B C D E F G H I A B C D E
G H A B C D E F G H I A B C D E F
H A B C D E F G H I A B C D E F G
I A B C D E F G H

10 × 10
A B C D E F G H I J
B C D E F G H I J A
C D E F G H I J A B
D E F G H I J A B C
E F G H I J A B C D
F G H I J A B C D E
G H I J A B C D E F
H I J A B C D E F G
I J A B C D E F G H
J A B C D E F G H I
11 × 11
A B C D E F G H I J K
B C D E F G H I J K A
C D E F G H I J K A B
D E F G H I J K A B C
E F G H I J K A B C D
F G H I J K A B C D E
G H I J K A B C D E F
H I J K A B C D E F G
I J K A B C D E F G H
J K A B C D E F G H I
K A B C D E F G H I J

The method of randomization for this plan is as follows:

1. 3 × 3. Arrange all columns and rows at random.
2. 4 × 4. Select at random one of the four squares. Arrange at random all
columns and rows.
3. 5 × 5 and higher squares. Arrange all rows, columns and treatments
independently at random.

Factorial Experiments

Experiments so far presented involved single-factor experiments, that is, only one factor
is being tested. Strictly speaking, results of single factor experiments are valid only under
the condition or particular level they were tested. If one wishes to broaden the scope of
the applicability of the results, then a factorial experiment should be considered.

104 Factorial Experiments

That is, testing two or more factors simultaneously. The advantages of factorial
experiments are:

• They provide information on the interaction among various factors tested.

• They are economical by comparison to several single factor experiments.

• They broaden the applicability of main effect conclusions.

Interaction between Factors

Two factors are said to interact if the effect of one factor changes as the level of the other
factor changes. Consider the following figure:

Grain Yield Grain Yield

V1 V1

V2

V2

Nitrogen Rate Nitrogen Rate

Figure a Figure b

Figure a shows an interaction between variety and nitrogen. That is, nitrogen does not
affect the yield of the two varieties in the same manner. In this case, while nitrogen
fertilization increases the yield of the first variety, it decreases the yield of the second.
Figure b still shows interaction between variety and nitrogen. Here, nitrogen increases
yield of both V1 and V2 but the rate of increase is much greater for V1 than for V2.

Factorial Experiments in Complete Block Designs

The complete block (CRD, RCB and Latin Square) designs are not only appropriate for
single-factor experiments but for factorial experiments as well.

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 105

Suppose an experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Varieties is to be conducted in a RCB
design in 3 replications. The layout may look as follows:

V2 V4 V3 V1 V4 V2 V3 V1 V3 V1 V4 V2
60 30 90 120 60 120 90 60 60 120 120 90
V4 V2 V1 V3 V3 V1 V4 V2 V2 V1 V3 V1
90 30 60 0 0 120 120 0 120 0 30 90
V3 V4 V2 V3 V2 V3 V2 V3 V2 V4 V3 V4
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
Rep I Rep II Rep III

Factor A: Nitrogen (0, 30, 60, 90, 120) rate (kg/ha)

Factor B: Variety (V1, V2, V3, V4)

Split plot Design

The split-plot designs are frequently used for factorial experiments in which the nature of
the experimental material or the operations involved make it difficult to handle all factor
combinations in the same manner. The basic split-plot design involves assigning the
levels of one factor to main plots arranged in a completely random, randomized complete
block or latin square design. The levels of the second factor are assigned to subplots
within each main plot. The design usually sacrifices precision in estimating the average
effects of the treatments assigned to main plots. It often improves the precision for
comparing the average effects of treatments assigned to subplots and, when interaction
exist, for comparing the effects of subplot treatments for a given main plot treatment.
This arises from the fact that experimental error for main plots is usually larger than the
experimental error used to compare subplot treatments. Usually, the error term for
subplot treatments is smaller than would be obtained if all treatment combinations were
arranged in a randomized complete block design.

Advantages of the Design

The advantages of the split-plot design are:

1. Experimental units which are large by necessity or design may be utilized to compare
subsidiary treatments.
2. Increased precision on the test of subplot main effect and interaction effect.

106 Split Plot Design

Disadvantages of the Design

The disadvantages of the split-plot design are:

1. The main plot treatments are measured with less precision than they are in a
randomized complete block design.

2. When missing data occur, the increase in complexity of the analysis for the split-plot
design is greater than for the randomized complete block design.

Layout of the Design

Suppose an experiment involving 5 N-rates and 4 Varieties is to be conducted in a Split-

plot design in 3 replications. The layout of the design may look as follows:

V2 V3 V1 V4 V4 V2 V1 V3 V2 V3 V4 V1
30 0 60
V3 V4 V2 V1 V3 V4 V2 V1 V4 V3 V2 V1
60 90 120
V2 V1 V4 V3 V4 V1 V3 V2 V1 V4 V3 V2
90 30 90
V4 V3 V2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V1 V3 V2 V1 V4
0 120 0
V1 V2 V3 V4 V1 V2 V4 V3 V4 V1 V3 V2
120 60 30
Rep I Rep II Rep III

Mainplot factor: Nitrogen (0, 30, 60, 90, 120) rate (kg/ha)

Subplot factor: Variety (V1, V2, V3, V4)

Strip-Plot Design

If in a split-plot design the subplot treatments are not separately randomized for each
mainplot, but are randomly allocated to strips of subplots cutting across each replication,
we have what is called the strip-plot, criss-cross, or split-block design. The first is to be
preferred, the levels of each factor forming strips at right-angles across each block.

There are two types of mainplot corresponding to the two factors, the levels of each factor
being separately randomized in each block. This is a valid design and has a use when it is
convenient to apply both factors to large areas. However, corresponding to the three
types of unit (2 mainplots and subplot) there are three error terms, one for each main
effect and one for the interaction.

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 107

Advantages of the Design

The advantages of the strip-plot design are:

1. The subplots may be kept relatively small, even though the mainplots for both factors
must be relatively large experimental units.
2. More precise information is obtained for the interaction.

Disadvantages of the Design

The disadvantages of the design are:

1. Precision in estimating the main effects is less than if the experiment were conducted
in a randomized complete block design.
2. The analysis of the design is more complex than the ordinary randomized complete
block design.

Layout of the Design

Suppose we wish to conduct a two-factor experiment involving 5 varieties and 4 nitrogen

rates arranged in a strip-plot design with 4 replications. The layout of the design may
look as follows:

N1 N3 N2 N4 N3 N4 N1 N2 N3 N2 N1 N4 N2 N1 N4 N3

V2 V4 V1 V5

V5 V3 V2 V1

V4 V2 V3 V4

V1 V5 V5 V3

V3 V1 V4 V2
Rep I Rep II Rep III Rep IV

108 Strip Plot Design

References:

Box, G.E.P., Hunter, W.G. & Hunter, J.S. (1978). Statistics for Experiments, John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
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Federrer, W.T. (1955). Experimental Design, McMillan.
Gomez, K.A. & Gomez, A.A. (1984). Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
John, P.W.M. (1971). Statistical Design and Analysis of Experiments, The McMillan
Company.
Little, T.M. & Hills, F.J. (1978). Agricultural Experimentation - Design and Analysis,
John Wiley & Sons.
Montgomery, D.C. (1984). Design and Analysis of Experiments, 2nd Ed., John Wiley &
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Ostle, B. & Mensing, R.W. (1975). Statistics in Research, 3rd. ed., The Iowa State
University Press.
Rayner, A.A. (1967). A First Course in Biometry for Agriculture Students, University of
Natal Press.

Experimental Designs Used in Rice Research 109

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