Unscrambling confounded effects of sowing date trials to screen for crop adaptation to high temperature

Against the backdrop of climate change, genotypes with improved adaptation to elevated temperature are required; reliable screening methods are therefore important. Sowing date experiments are a practical and inexpensive approach for comparison of large collections of lines. Late-sown crops usually experience hotter conditions and phenotypes thus partially capture this environmental influence. Two sets of confounded factors, however, limit the...