Hi everybody, I have exciting news!
After a few months of silence, I’m thrilled to finally share the reason of such silence: I’ve been working intensely on a new book project, which has taken up most of my spare time. And now… the book is out!
This book is titled ‘Field Research Methods in Agriculture’ and it is published by Springer Nature. It offers a clear, accessible, and practical introduction to experimental design and basic data analysis for field experiments in agriculture and related disciplines. It’s specifically designed for students, researchers, and practitioners who want to strengthen their methodological skills without getting lost in heavy mathematics.
And, why this book matters?
Small-plot experiments are the backbone of scientific progress in agriculture. They support the evaluation and comparison of innovative genotypes, agronomic practices, pesticides, and plant protection methods. This book provides the tools to design, analyze, and interpret such experiments correctly and effectively.
What’s inside?
- Experimental design and layout types
- Descriptive statistics
- Model fitting (ANOVA, regression, mixed models)
- Stochastic models (Gaussian density, Monte Carlo simulation)
- Inference and hypothesis testing
- Model evaluation
- Combinations of model parameters
… all supported by real-life examples and hands-on exercises.
The book is complemented by:
- an R package (
statforbiology) - a continuously updated webpage with extra functions, datasets, and case studies (at this link)
My hope is that this resource will become a practical companion for those working with field data in agriculture and related fields.
If you’re interested, I’d be delighted to share more! If you would like to take a look, please visit the Springer publication website for the table of contents and sample chapters or to buy the whole book or any of its individual Chapters.
Thank you very much for your attention!
Prof. Andrea Onofri
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences
University of Perugia (Italy)
Send comments to: andrea.onofri@unipg.it
