Assessing the efficiency of variance balance design and row column design in comparison to randomized complete block design

Abstract

Plant breeding programs rely on effective mating and environmental designs to achieve successful outcomes. The aim is to provide most suitable environmental design considering estimation accuracy, required replication levels, and experimental area requirements by comparing three environmental designs namely, RCBD, RCD and VBD. Fifteen diallel crosses were evaluated using the three designs, and observations were recorded for YPP, NFP, AFW, FL and FG. The results showed significant differences among the F2 progeny for all traits across the three environmental designs, indicating substantial genotypic variation. The average relative efficiency of VBD over RCBD and RCD was 192.53% and 145.71%, respectively, while RCD showed a relative efficiency of 135.87% over RCBD. The results revealed that RCD and VBD were efficient designs compared to RCBD, with VBD showing the highest gain in efficiency. The significance of gca/sca estimates varied among the designs, suggesting that the choice of experimental design influenced the precision of the estimates. In conclusion, VBD proved to be the most suitable environmental design for diallel method-IV experiments in brinjal crops, offering improved estimation accuracy and requiring less experimental area compared to other designs. These findings contribute to enhancing the design and execution of plant breeding programs, leading to improved breeding outcomes.