Common families across test series—how many do we need?

Abstract

In order to compare families that are planted on different sites, many forest tree breeding programs include common families in their different series of trials. Computer simulation was used to examine how many common families were needed in each series of progeny trials in order to reliably compare families across series. Average gain and its associated variation stabilized after the addition of four to six common families.

Citation

Johnson, G.R. 2004. Common families across test series—how many do we need?. Forest Genetics. 11(2): 103-112