scholarly journals The importance of long-term experiments in agriculture: their management to ensure continued crop production and soil fertility; the Rothamsted experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Johnston ◽  
P. R. Poulton
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Long Term Experiments

Crop production research in multifunctional agriculture

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Berzsenyi
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Wheat Varieties ◽  
Maize Hybrids ◽  
Long Term Experiments ◽  
Small Plot ◽  
Production Research ◽  
Set Up

The research agenda for crop science in the 21st century will depend largely on whether the present conditions regarding the global food surplus continue, or whether a food scarcity recurs. Crop production research is based chiefly on small-plot field experiments, the majority of which are either long-term experiments or experiments set up to investigate the specific agronomic responses of Martonvásár maize hybrids and wheat varieties. The sustainability of crop production is examined in long-term experiments. The agronomic responses of maize hybrids and wheat varieties are studied at various levels of biological organisation. Growth analysis facilitates the exact characterisation of agronomic responses and the grouping of response effects and types using multivariable methods. Continued experimentation coupled with crop simulation models and decision support systems are an ever more useful framework for analysing the complexity of agricultural systems.

scholarly journals The Rothamsted long-term experiments: Are they still relevant?

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Poulton
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Global Change ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Atmospheric Pollution ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Land Management Practice ◽  
Long Term Experiments

Maintaining soil fertility and sustaining or increasing crop yield is of worldwide importance. Many factors impact upon the complex biological, chemical and physical processes which govern soil fertility. Changes in fertility caused by acidification, declining levels of organic matter, or P and K status may take many years to appear. These properties can in turn be affected by external influences such as atmospheric pollution, global change, or changes in land management practice. Long-term experiments provide the best practical means of studying changes in soil properties and processes and providing information for farmers, scientists and policy makers. This paper shows how the experiments run at Rothamsted in southeast England continue to provide data which are highly relevant to today's agriculture and wider environmental concerns. Examples are given of how crop yield is affected by soil organic matter, by pests and disease and by P nutrition. The effect of atmospheric pollution on soil acidity and the mobilization of heavy metals are also examined. The need for making better use of existing long-term experiments is stressed. Key words: Soil fertility, sustainability, long-term experiments, global change

scholarly journals Bacterivorous nematodes correlate with soil fertility and improved crop production in an organic minimum tillage system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. Schmidt ◽  
Johannes Hallmann ◽  
Maria R. Finckh
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Minimum Tillage ◽  
Cover Cropping ◽  
Organic Farming Systems

AbstractOrganic farming systems are generally based on intensive soil tillage for seed bed preparation and weed control, which in the long-term often leads to reduced soil fertility. To avoid this, organic farming systems need to adopt conservation agriculture practices, such as minimum tillage and diligent crop rotations. However, minimum tillage generally delays soil warming in spring causing reduced nitrogen mineralization and thus poor plant growth. This negative effect needs to be compensated. We hypothesize that, in a diverse crop rotation, organic minimum tillage based on frequent cover cropping and application of dead mulch will improve soil fertility and thus crop production as confirmed by a number of chemical and biological soil indicators.We made use of two long-term field experiments that compare typical organic plough-based systems (25 cm) with minimum tillage systems (<15 cm) including application of transfer mulch to potatoes. Both tillage systems were either fertilized with compost or equivalent amounts of mineral potassium and phosphate. In 2019, soil samples from both fields were collected and analyzed for soil pH, organic carbon, macro-, micronutrients, microbial biomass, microbial activity and total nematode abundance. In addition, performance of pea in the same soils was determined under greenhouse conditions.Results from the field experiments showed an increase of macronutrients (+52%), micronutrients (+11%), microbial biomass (+51%), microbial activity (+86%), and bacterivorous nematodes (+112%) in minimum tillage compared with the plough-based system. In the accompanying greenhouse bioassay, pea biomass was 45% higher under minimum than under plough tillage. In conclusion, the study showed that under organic conditions, soil fertility can be improved in minimum tillage systems by intensive cover cropping and application of dead mulch to levels higher than in a plough-based system. Furthermore, the abundance of bacterivorous nematodes can be used as a reliable indicator for the soil fertility status.

Significance of the 50-year-old long-term experiments in Martonvásár in improving crop production

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Berzsenyi
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Wheat Varieties ◽  
Present Generation ◽  
National Heritage ◽  
Long Term Experiments ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Set Up

Long-term experiments are indispensable for investigations on the long-term effects of various crop production methods and technologies. The long-term experiments set up in Martonvásár by Béla Győrffy are now 50 years old and can be considered as part of the national heritage. The most important of these experiments involve crop rotation vs. monoculture trials, the comparison of fertilisation systems, studies on the interactions and carry-over effects of organic and mineral fertilisers, fertiliser rate experiments and polyfactorial experiments. The long-term experiments in Martonvásár form an integral part of maize and wheat research and provide a place for testing the agronomic responses of maize hybrids and wheat varieties. Valuable scientific results are obtained from these experiments regarding the reasons for yield depression in monocultures, the yieldincreasing effect of crop rotations, the comparative benefits of organic and mineral fertilisation, the agronomic responses of genotypes, the sustainability and yield stability of crop production techniques, and the interaction between various crop production factors. These results promote the improvement of maize and wheat production and are regularly incorporated into recommendation systems. The present generation of scientists has a responsibility to maintain these experiments, so that they can continue to serve their purpose in the coming decades.

Long-term effects of fallow systems and lengths on crop production and soil fertility maintenance in West Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Tian ◽  
B. T. Kang ◽  
G. O. Kolawole ◽  
P. Idinoba ◽  
F. K. Salako
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Fallow Systems

scholarly journals Baking quality of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the long-term experiments on chernozem soil

2010 ◽  
pp. 152-156
Author(s):  
Péter Pepó
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Production Model ◽  
Wheat Genotype ◽  
Wheat Production ◽  
Baking Quality ◽  
Long Term Experiments

Agriculture has traditionally an important role in Hungarian economy and rural development. About 75 % of Hungary’s total territoryis under agricultural land use. Because of ecological conditions and production traditions cereals (wheat, maize etc) have the greatestimportance in Hungarian crop production. In the 1980’s the country-average yields of wheat were about 5,0-5,5 t ha-1 („industrial-like”crop production-model). In the 1990’s the yields of wheat dropped to 4,0 t ha-1 because of low input-using and wide application of the issuesof environmental protection and sustainability. Winter wheat production for quality has a decisive role in certain regions of Hungary(eastern and middle-parts).The quality of wheat is complex and different. Three major growing factor groups determine the quality of winter wheat: genotype,agroecological conditions and agrotechnical factors. In wheat production for quality the selection of the variety is the most importantelement. Our long-term experiments proved that the quality traits of a variety means the highest (maximum) limit of quality which could notbe exceeded in fact. During the vegetation period of wheat the different ecological and agrotechnical factors could help or on the contrarycould demage the quality parameters of wheat.The agrotechnical factors determining the baking quality of wheat can be divided into two groups: the first group means the factors withdirect effects on quality (fertilization, irrigation, harvest); the second group contains the elements with indirect effects on quality (croprotation, tillage, planting, crop protection).Appropriate fertilization could help to manifest the maximum of quality parameters of a wheat genotype and could reduce the qualityfluctuationin unfavourable ecological and agrotechnical conditions.

The importance of long-term trials in understanding sustainable farming systems: the Rothamsted experience

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 825 ◽  
Author(s):  
PR Poulton
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Sustainable Farming ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Long Term Experiments

This paper gives examples of how long-term experiments can be used t o improve our understanding of sustainable farming systems. Rothamsted conducts more than 20 long-term (>20 years) experiments in south-eastern England; several were started in the middle of the last century. Some have continued with minor changes, others have been modified considerably t o ensure their continuation and relevance. Examples are given of the effect on soils and crop yields of organic matter, the availability of P, and acidification. The use of archived material in addressing problems not even considered when the experiments began is also discussed. Long-term experiments are essential in determining the factors affecting soil fertility and sustainable production. In many cases, effects may only be observed or interactions become apparent over an extended time. Full use should be made of existing experiments and data; in particular, those on different soil types and under different climatic conditions should be compared so that the information is valuable to farmers, advisers, legislators, and other scientists in both the local and wider community.

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