relative efficiency of alpha lattice design over randomized complete block design in yield trials of chickpea (cicer arietinum l.)

structure of alpha lattice designs makes removing the effects of incomplete blocks from residual effect of plots, and maximizes precision of comparison between genotypes at the same incomplete block. this investigation was conducted to study the international chickpea germplasm, for finding desirable lines regarding seed yield and other traits. two trials including cien-la-2010 and cien-s-2010 carried out at saral station of kurdistan province during 2009-2010 cropping season. cien-la and cien-s were sown at normal time, early march and as 9×5 alpha lattice designs with two replications. considering property of each trial, data recording was done and statistical analyses were performed. according to analysis of variance, there were significant differences between genotypes across two trials. the average standard error of difference between genotypes was used to calculate relative efficiency of alpha lattice design. these results revealed that, alpha lattice had more efficiency over traditional randomized complete block design in both experiments, and ranks of entries were changed in trials. in cien-la and cien-s, lines flip 05-55c and flip 06-159c ranked first for seed yield, respectively. it is necessary to have a more precise look to the best entries of these trials at the next studies.