What do the numbers really mean? Interpreting variety trial results

Abstract

Variety trials are conducted across the US by land-grant institutions to evaluate the performance of commercial seed varieties of many crops, such as corn, soybean, wheat, etc. Farmers and other agriculture professionals use this data to help them choose the best seed varieties for their farming operation. Statistics presented in variety trial reports may be unfamiliar to some stakeholders, which can lead to incorrect conclusions. This fact sheet explains the statistics used in variety trials and how to properly apply the statistics to interpret the data.