Author(s)

Ladislav Bláha

Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic.

The basic question is whether our contemporary methods really describe exactly the “plant world” around us, experiments or if it is the result of the current “imperfect” level of pieces of knowledge. Frankly, experiments are often burdened with many errors in sampling, in the selection of experimental plants, at the simulation of environmental stress, in light composition and lighting methods, shortly by a lot of mistakes. Experimental conditions of individual authors in evaluating the same issue often differ—that is to say, results are difficult to compare. The artificial experimental environment should simulate selected average external conditions of a given crop. Very important is the identification of important growth phases and traits that are suitable for the evaluation of the main experimental task. Bad results and also conclusions of experiments can be by either ignorance of these facts or by incorrectly prepared experiments. Very important is also a knowledge level of concerning tested problematic. The main goal is not only to point out the need for measuring important properties of plants in a physiologically correct stage of growth and development, by suitable methods but also on the influence of the properties of utilized seeds in experiments that they can modify plant growth and development. It is often forgotten that impact of stress on the seeds’ properties and through the seed traits on the plant properties, for example, the same variety in of different provenance may give different results, especially influence on the roots, because plant roots are the most sensitive part of plants. Only the different origins of used seeds in identical experiments at two workplaces can significantly change the results of every repeated standard experiment.

Agricultural Experiments, Errors, Possible Causes

Bláha, L. (2019) Possible Experimental Mistakes in Agricultural Research. Agricultural Sciences, 10, 1423-1437. doi: 10.4236/as.2019.1011104.