Wytze,
Hey, designing research by email is kind of fun!
> May I suggest that in the case of such an experiment also the
> origin of the seeds is considered. I hear that organic farmers
> sometimes use conventional seeds and for some organic crops no
> organic seeds are available. But it may imo be a point
> of influence.
I wouldn't be surprised if cultivar had an effect, but controlling cultivar
a-priori would probably make it necessary to do the whole thing in small
plots, probably at an experiment station. I suspect it would end up more
expensive and less relevant.
It is hard to imagine how the seed source (organic versus conventional)
might have any effect on the nutrient content of the crop.
Ultimately this is a matter of design philosophy. My own preference is to
match the scope of an experiment or survey to the question asked. Since the
question concerns the nutrient content of organic versus conventional
produce in general, the scope of the study should be broad, and the error
terms for any statistical tests should encompass field-field variability.
Dale
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