Estimation of Interplant Dependence in a Linear Planting Scheme

A maximum likelihood procedure is developed to estimate the dependence relations between plants at equal distances along a row, by fitting simultaneous bilateral models to the observations. Where there is more than one characteristic measured on each plant, a simultaneous bilateral vector model can be fitted by maximum likelihood procedures. The latter model also applies when one characteristic is measured on each plant in a two‐dimensional planting array where interplant distances within each row are equal but interrow spacing varies. The estimation is particularly suited to the small sample situation.