Principles and Practice of Agricultural Research

By S. C. Salmon

Subjects: Agricultural research, Linear models, Experimental design, Agricultural economics, Statistical methods, Statistical inference, Analysis of variance, Field experiments, Agricultural statistics, Regression analysis, Mathematical statistics, Design of experiments

Description: ANY book concerned with tho principles and practice of agricultural research is particularly welcome at l;his time when there is such a need for increased food production in many of the developing countries, and that by Salmon and Hanson is a very good introduction to the subject. The first part gives a brief sketch of the history of agricultural improvements, tracing the development of some of the more important aspects such as plant breeding improvements, and directing attention to the methods used by some of the scientists whose work later became important in agriculture. Part 3 is devoted to statistical methods, a subject which is already very well covered by standard text-books. This section does not attempt any new explanation but simply shows, mainly by example, how various statistical computations are made, without attempting to show much basic theory. The section ends wit,h a discussion of the uses and limitations of statistical methods which very wisely produces the conclusion that they arc no substitute for critical observation and thought,, but should be used, where appropriate, for the purposes for which they are designed. This appreciation of statistics is followed by an examination of the techniques of agricultural research, which first deals with problems found in all kinds of field research, such as differential responses from place to place and year to year, and then goes on to deal with choice of experimental material, size, shape, replication and management of plots in field trials. Another chapter in this section is devoted t.o experiments with farm animals in which most experimental aspects are mentioned. There is also a chapter on experimental design which demonstrates the possibilities of Latin squares, cross-over trials, split-plot and incomplete plot designs, without attempting to show how these are analysed, and the book ends with some thoughts on the methods of research in agricultural economics including a reference to linear programming.