Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42611324›Full record

ArticleTAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik2026

Estimating on-farm genotypic performance and variability using ranking data.

Hugo Dorado-Betancourt, Fred van Eeuwijk, Jacob van Etten, Julian Ramirez-Villegas, Kaûe de Sousa, Happy Daudi, Michael Ndegwa, Thiago Mendes, Joost van Heerwaarden

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Estimating on-farm genotypic performance and variability using ranking data.TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Hugo Dorado-BetancourtMathematical and Statistical Methods (Biometris), Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands. hugo.doradob@gmail.com.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0103-7505
Fred van EeuwijkMathematical and Statistical Methods (Biometris), Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Jacob van EttenDigital Inclusion, Bioversity International, Montpellier, France.
Julian Ramirez-VillegasPlant Production Systems, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Kaûe de SousaDigital Inclusion, Bioversity International, Montpellier, France.
Happy DaudiDryland Crops Program (DCP), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CYMMYT, Nairobi, Kenya.
Michael NdegwaSustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Nairobi, Kenya.
Thiago MendesCrop Improvement, International Potato Center (CIP), Nairobi, Kenya.
Joost van HeerwaardenMathematical and Statistical Methods (Biometris), Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands. joost.vanheerwaarden@wur.nl.

Funding

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation INV-031561Gates Family Foundation INV-031561
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

key messageOur scalable two-step method estimates genotypic performance and genetic parameters from ranking data, producing reliable results comparable to quantitative analyses, enabling the integration of ranking data into breeding pipelines. Plant breeding research has chiefly relied on on-station experiments to evaluate varietal performance. Nevertheless, these trials often fail to represent on-farm growing conditions and farmers' preferences, potentially leading to poorly defined breeding targets. Recent work has demonstrated the potential of using on-farm verification trials combined with ranking data to support farmers in evaluating varieties while providing information that is representative of farmers' needs. Despite this potential, scalable methods for quantifying genetic differences and assessing the strength of the genetic signal in such trials remain limited. Here, we present a two-step procedure for analyzing trials based on ranking data, allowing the estimation of genetic parameters. The approach follows a common strategy in quantitative genetics, in which parameters are estimated from tables of genotypic means and their variances. In our framework, these estimates are obtained from Thurstonian and/or Plackett-Luce models, which treat rankings as observations of an underlying continuous trait associated with genotypic performance. Using simulated data, we showed that genotypic mean estimates derived from ranking analyses are linearly related to those obtained from quantitative trait analyses and that their variances adequately capture estimation uncertainty. We further demonstrated that incorporating these estimates and their variances into a second-step mixed-effects model yields accurate estimates of variance components. Analyses of groundnut, maize, and sweetpotato datasets confirmed the applicability of the approach and showed that ranking data can provide reliable estimates of genetic parameters. We argue that this framework can be scaled to obtain genotypic performance estimates from multi-trial on-farm data.

Indexed as

Crops, AgriculturalGenotypeModels, GeneticPlant BreedingComputer SimulationPhenotype

Identifiers

PMID42611324
PMCPMC13486096

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.