7. Visit the field site periodically (weekly or biweekly) to: keep the
pots/trays clean of leaves and debris; detect in time any problem affecting the field experiment, such as diseases or insect
attacks; and avoid undesired sources of variation. Periodic visits
are also necessary to record seedling and adult plant survival (see
Notes 11, 21–25).
8. Collect samples and/or phenotype your trait of interest in the
appropriate season(s) (see Notes 1, 2, 4, and 26).
9. If necessary, score fitness components such as fruit or seed
production, when plants are almost completely dry (see Notes
27 and 28).
10. At the end of the experiment, pots and plant material should be
carefully removed and cleaned up to avoid spreading of offspring seeds outside the experimental site (see Notes 11 and
28).
11. Analyze the data collected according to the aim of the field
experiment using general or specialized statistical software
packages (e.g., QTL mapping software; R scripts for
evolutionary test).
12. Repeat the experiment the next season or year (see Note 29).
Fig. 1 Arabidopsis field experiments. Pictures show trials in Grazalema (Spain; 329 m.a.s.l.; a–d), Sierra
Nevada (Spain; 1650 m.a.s.l.; e–h), and Madrid (Spain; 709 m.a.s.l.; i–l). They illustrate alternative settings
differing in the preparation of the site (a, e, and i), type of plant container (h, l), protection against disruptions
by large animals (b, k), type and installation of climate sensors (sensors are marked with a blue arrow in b and
j), and phenology of plants (d, h, and l)
Analyses of Natural Variation
97
pots/trays clean of leaves and debris; detect in time any problem affecting the field experiment, such as diseases or insect
attacks; and avoid undesired sources of variation. Periodic visits
are also necessary to record seedling and adult plant survival (see
Notes 11, 21–25).
8. Collect samples and/or phenotype your trait of interest in the
appropriate season(s) (see Notes 1, 2, 4, and 26).
9. If necessary, score fitness components such as fruit or seed
production, when plants are almost completely dry (see Notes
27 and 28).
10. At the end of the experiment, pots and plant material should be
carefully removed and cleaned up to avoid spreading of offspring seeds outside the experimental site (see Notes 11 and
28).
11. Analyze the data collected according to the aim of the field
experiment using general or specialized statistical software
packages (e.g., QTL mapping software; R scripts for
evolutionary test).
12. Repeat the experiment the next season or year (see Note 29).
Fig. 1 Arabidopsis field experiments. Pictures show trials in Grazalema (Spain; 329 m.a.s.l.; a–d), Sierra
Nevada (Spain; 1650 m.a.s.l.; e–h), and Madrid (Spain; 709 m.a.s.l.; i–l). They illustrate alternative settings
differing in the preparation of the site (a, e, and i), type of plant container (h, l), protection against disruptions
by large animals (b, k), type and installation of climate sensors (sensors are marked with a blue arrow in b and
j), and phenology of plants (d, h, and l)
Analyses of Natural Variation
97