A suggested statistical approach for dealing with the non-significant interactions between treatments

Zakaria M. Sawan

.

DOI: 10.4236/ns.2011.35049                

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of nitrogen (N) fertilizer and foliar appli-cation of potassium (K) and Mepiquat Chloride (MC) on yield of cotton. Seed cotton yield per plant and seed cotton and lint yield per hectare; have been increased due to the higher N rate and use of foliar application of K and MC. No significant interactions were found among the variables in the present study (N, K and MC) with respect to characters under investigation. Generally, interactions indicated that, the fa-vorable effects ascribed to the application of N; spraying cotton plants with K combined with MC on cotton productivity, were more obvious by applying N at 143 kg per hectare, and combined with spraying cotton plants with K at 957 g per hectare and also with MC at 48 + 24 g active ingredient per hectare. Sensible increases were found in seed cotton yield per hectare (about 40%) as a result of applying the same combination. However, this interaction did not reach the level of significance, so, statistical approach for dealing with the non-significant interactions between treatments, depending on the Least Significant Difference values has been suggested, to provide an opportunity to disclosure of the interaction effects regardless of their insignificance. As a matter of fact the original formula used in calculating the significance of interactions suffers a possible shortage, which can be eliminated through applying the new suggested formula.

Keywords

Cotton Yield; Mepiquat Chloride; Nitrogen; Non-Significant Interactions; Potassium

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Gormus, O. (2002) Effects of rate and time of potassium application on cotton yield and quality in Turkey. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 188, 382-388. doi:10.1046/j.1439-037X.2002.00583.x
[2]	Ansari, M.S. and Mahey, R.K. (2003) Growth and yield of cotton species as affected by sowing dates and nitrogen levels. Journal of Research, Punjab Agricultural University, 40, 8-11.
[3]	Pervez, H., Ashraf, M. and Makhdum, M.I. (2004) Influence of potassium rates and sources on seed cotton yield and yield components of some elite cotton cultivars. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 27, 1295-1317. doi:10.1081/PLN-120038549
[4]	Nuti, R.C., Witten, T.K., Jost, P.H. and Cothren, J.T. (2000) Comparisons of pix plus and additional foliar Bacillus cereus in cotton. Proceedings Beltwide Cotton Production Research Conference, San Antonio, 4-8 January 2000, 684-687.
[5]	Kumar, K.A.K., Patil, B.C. and Chetti, M.B. (2004) Effect of plant growth regulators on biophysical, biochemical parameters and yield of hybrid cotton. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Science, 16, 591-594.
[6]	Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G. (1980) Statistical Methods. 7th Edition, Iowa State University Press, Ames.
[7]	McConnell, J.S. and Mozaffari, M. (2004) Yield, petiole nitrate, and node development responses of cotton to early season nitrogen fertilization. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 27, 1183-1197. doi:10.1081/PLN-120038543
[8]	Wiatrak, P.J., Wright, D.L. and Marois, J.J. (2006) Development and yields of cotton under two tillage systems and nitrogen application following white lupine grain crop. Journal Cotton Science, 10, 1-8.
[9]	Pettigrew, W.T., Meredith, W.R. Jr. and Young, L.D. (2005) Potassium fertilization effects on cotton lint yield, yield components, and reniform nematode populations. Agronomy Journal, 97, 1245-1251. doi:10.2134/agronj2004.0321
[10]	Sharma, S.K. and Sundar, S. (2007) Yield, yield attributes and quality of cotton as influenced by foliar application of potassium. Journal of Cotton Research and Development, 21, 51-54.
[11]	Prakash, R., Prasad, M. and Pachauri, D.K. (2001) Effect of nitrogen, chlormequat chloride and FYM on growth yield and quality of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Annals of Agricultural Research, 22, 107-110.