The analysis of complex traits has

The analysis of complex traits has recently been bolstered by
developments in statistical and modeling methods for the analysis of
phenotypic data obtained from field and controlled environment studies.
For example, in assessing drought tolerance in wheat and sorghum,
modeling can be used generate an “index of the climatic environment” to
identify the stages of crop development where there is the strongest
interaction between genotype and the environment and to identify aspects
of the crop response that can be most readily enhanced by breeding and
selection (29).