ABSTRACT
Field experimentation is integral to the plant breeder's job function and the mastery of its techniques based soundly on statistical or biometrical principles as applied to the crop of interest. An experiment is a planned enquiry usually in the form of a hypothesis to obtain new/deny/confirm facts. A field breeding experiment typically comprises, treatments and plots. An experimental design is a set of rules to allocate the treatments to the experimental units. Experimental designs commonly used: completely randomized design (CRD), randomized complete block design (RCBD), Latin square design, split-plot design, and incomplete block designs. Oil palm breeding experiments comprise the following types: D × D trials, and T × T/P trials. Except for perennial fruit trees which tend to be planted widely spaced and thus a single tree plot is justifiable, most crops including oil palm are planted closely. In such a situation, interplant and interplot competition warrant consideration in the choice of plot size.
