The study of statistics influences various fields, though usually behind the scenes. Its role in farming is particularly important. Dennis Eggett, an associate professor in the Department of Statistics, recently analyzed the yields of russet potatoes in relation to the amount of fertilizer used.
Bryan Hopkins, a faculty member in BYU’s Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, headed this study on the effects of phosphorous-based fertilizer on potato production while Eggett provided the statistical analysis.
To ensure the accuracy of their findings, the authors took several precautions. First, they ran the same experiment using many different plots of land in various areas because each plot has a different soil compostion and different access to water and sunlight. This insured that the results would not be biased by the location and plot of ground. Second, they divided each plot of ground into several sections, applying different amounts of fertilizer to each section.
In every crop harvested, the potatoes were separated into two groups: US No. 1, and small. US No. 1 potatoes meet superior size and quality requirements; small potatoes don’t. The results showed that, up to a certain optimal level, as the amount of phosphorous-based fertilizer increased on a plot of land, the poundage of the US No. 1 crop increased and the poundage of the small potatoes decreased. Commenting on this trend, Eggett explained that potatoes that otherwise would have been small can grow to US No. 1 size as long as there is adequate nutrients available. Because the market prefers these large potatoes, the profitability of the crop increases with more fertilizer.
Though fertilizer does increase production, a farmer also must be cautious not to over-apply it. If applied too liberally the fertilizer may actually serve the opposite purpose and decrease the fertility of a piece of land.
“With too much fertilizer, you may start to burn the leaves,” Eggett said. “And without the nutrition from the leaves, the potatoes will not develop.”
Though this study was carefully executed and produced much information, it would have been impossible to come to any clear conclusions or understand the results without Eggett’s statistical analysis. Statisticians bring all the information together, analyze it, and identify the patterns in a study.
Many times we do not notice the affect statistics have on our lives, but Eggett’s work demonstrates why statistical analysis is so important in many scientific studies. In this case, Eggett is helping farmers understand how to increase their income by improved farming methods. With a growing population, effective use of the land is becoming increasingly important and these types of studies are increasingly more important.