Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 135-141 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Entomology |
| Volume | 140 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| Early online date | 14 Aug 2015 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2016 |
Abstract
Studying interactions of multiple pesticides applied simultaneously in a mixture is a common task in phytopathology. Statistical methods are employed to test whether the treatment components influence each other's efficacy in a promotive or inhibitory way (synergistic or antagonistic interaction) or rather act independent of one another (additivity). The trouble is that widely used procedures based on chi-square tests are often seriously flawed, either because people apply them in a preposterous way or because the method simply does not fit the problem at hand. Browsing recent volumes of entomological journals, we found that numerous researchers have (in all likelihood unwittingly) analysed their data as if they had had a sample size of 100 or, equally bad, a sample size of one! We show how to avoid such poor practices and further argue that chi-square testing is, even if applied correctly (meaning that no technical errors are made), a limited purpose tool for assessing treatment interactions.
Keywords
- Antagonism, Integrated pest management, Interaction, Statistical analysis, Synergism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Agronomy and Crop Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Insect Science
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In: Journal of Applied Entomology, Vol. 140, No. 1-2, 01.02.2016, p. 135-141.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Common pitfalls when testing additivity of treatment mixtures with chi-square analyses
AU - Pallmann, Philip
AU - Schaarschmidt, Frank
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
PY - 2016/2/1
Y1 - 2016/2/1
N2 - Studying interactions of multiple pesticides applied simultaneously in a mixture is a common task in phytopathology. Statistical methods are employed to test whether the treatment components influence each other's efficacy in a promotive or inhibitory way (synergistic or antagonistic interaction) or rather act independent of one another (additivity). The trouble is that widely used procedures based on chi-square tests are often seriously flawed, either because people apply them in a preposterous way or because the method simply does not fit the problem at hand. Browsing recent volumes of entomological journals, we found that numerous researchers have (in all likelihood unwittingly) analysed their data as if they had had a sample size of 100 or, equally bad, a sample size of one! We show how to avoid such poor practices and further argue that chi-square testing is, even if applied correctly (meaning that no technical errors are made), a limited purpose tool for assessing treatment interactions.
AB - Studying interactions of multiple pesticides applied simultaneously in a mixture is a common task in phytopathology. Statistical methods are employed to test whether the treatment components influence each other's efficacy in a promotive or inhibitory way (synergistic or antagonistic interaction) or rather act independent of one another (additivity). The trouble is that widely used procedures based on chi-square tests are often seriously flawed, either because people apply them in a preposterous way or because the method simply does not fit the problem at hand. Browsing recent volumes of entomological journals, we found that numerous researchers have (in all likelihood unwittingly) analysed their data as if they had had a sample size of 100 or, equally bad, a sample size of one! We show how to avoid such poor practices and further argue that chi-square testing is, even if applied correctly (meaning that no technical errors are made), a limited purpose tool for assessing treatment interactions.
KW - Antagonism
KW - Integrated pest management
KW - Interaction
KW - Statistical analysis
KW - Synergism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84954395898&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jen.12258
DO - 10.1111/jen.12258
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84954395898
VL - 140
SP - 135
EP - 141
JO - Journal of Applied Entomology
JF - Journal of Applied Entomology
SN - 0931-2048
IS - 1-2
ER -