Alternate Wheat and Fallow
- Experiment Code: R/WF/3
- Experiment Site: Rothamsted
- Objectives: Effects of fallow on winter wheat yields.
- Description: The Alternate Wheat and Fallow experiment was started by Lawes and Gilbert in 1856, on a 0.4 ha site on part of Hoosfield. The experiment originally had two strips which alternated winter wheat and a bare fallow in successive years. Between 1932 and 1982, a modification was introduced to allow a yearly comparison of a one-year and a three-year fallow but the effects on the yield of the subsequent wheat crop were small and since 1983 the experiment has reverted to the original design. The wheat cultivar grown has usually been the same as on Broadbalk, and the effects of fallowing on the yield of winter wheat can be roughly estimated by comparing yields from this experiment with continuous, unmanured wheat on Broadbalk (plot 03). In the first 10 years of the experiment the one-year fallow gave an extra 0.6 t ha-1, but over the next 60 years the difference was even smaller (0.14 t ha-1). Since its reversion to the original design in 1983, and with modern cultivars, average yields of the wheat after a one-year fallow have been 1.7 t ha-1. When expressed on the basis of the whole area (i.e. wheat plus fallow), the yield of 0.85 t ha-1 is slightly less than the 1.0 t ha-1 for continuous wheat on Broadbalk. Since autumn 2015, the whole experiment (both plots) has been sown to winter wheat, the same variety as is grown on Broadbalk. A small amount of N fertilizer (50 kg N ha-1) is applied in spring (mid-April), but to maintain the low soil P and K status, no other fertilizers are applied. No yields or crop samples have been taken since harvest 2015. It was in this experiment in 1935, that symptoms caused by the fungal pathogen Gibellina cerealis or 'white straw disease' were first recorded in the UK.
- Date Start: 1856
- Date End: 2014
Key Contacts
Andy Gregory
- Role: Principal Investigator
- Organisation: Rothamsted Research
- Address: West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
Sarah Perryman
- Role: Data Manager
- Organisation: Rothamsted Research
- Address: West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
Funding
- The e-RA database, including the published datasets generated from it, is part of the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments - National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (RLTE-NBRI) , which also includes the Long-Term Experiments, the Sample Archive and Rothamsted's environmental monitoring activities including the weather stations and its role in the UK Environmental Change Network.
- The RLTE-NBRI is supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grants BBS/E/C/00005189 (2012-2017); BBS/E/C/000J0300 (2017-2022); BBS/E/RH/23NB0007 (2023-2028)).
Keywords
Experimental Design
Description
- Two half acre strips, A and B, lie side by side, one carrying wheat while the other is fallow. These treatments alternate each year. No fertilisers are applied.
Design
- Period: 1856 - 1931
- Number of Plots: 2
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Wheat | |
| Fallow |
Measurements
| Variable | Unit | Collection Frequency |
Material | Description | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvested Surface Area | ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | wheat | |
| Grain Yield Trait | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | At field moisture content | wheat |
| Harvest Date | date | annually | Start and end date | ||
| Forage Yield | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | straw yield | wheat |
Description
- Each original A and B strip was divided transversly into 4 equal sections. When a strip carries wheat, only 3 of the 4 sections are cropped, the fourth section being left fallow. Each of the eight sections has a triple fallow in turn with an eight year cycle having 5 fallow and 3 cropped years Between the autumn of 1956 and 1960 each strip was divided in half longitudinally. The centre two halves continued the eight year cycle while the outer plots were assigned to the Entomology department for studies wheat bulb fly. No fertilizers were used. Between 1963 and 1966 plots were split to compare varieties Squarehead's Master 13/4 (Kloka 1966), Capelle and Rothwell Perdix.
Design
- Period: 1932 - 1982
- Number of Plots: 8
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Wheat | |
| Fallow |
Crop Rotations
| Rotation | Crops |
|---|---|
| WFFFWFWF ( - ) | Wheat > Fallow > Fallow > Fallow > Wheat > Fallow > Wheat > Fallow |
Measurements
| Variable | Unit | Collection Frequency |
Material | Description | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvested Surface Area | ha | annually | |||
| Harvest Date | date | annually | start and end date | ||
| Grain Yield Trait | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | Measured at field moisture content until 1957 and 85% dry matter from 1958 | wheat |
| Forage Yield | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | Measured at field moisture content until 1957 and 85% dry matter from 1958 | wheat |
| Fallow Years | The number of consecutive fallow years |
Description
- The four sections for each strip were merged reverting the experiment to the original two strip design.
Design
- Period: 1983 - 2015
- Number of Plots: 2
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Wheat | |
| Fallow |
Measurements
| Variable | Unit | Collection Frequency |
Material | Description | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest Date | date | annually | SpecifiedCrop | wheat | |
| Harvested Surface Area | ha | annually | |||
| Grain Yield Trait | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | Measured at 85% dry matter | wheat |
| Forage Yield | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | Measured at 85% dry matter | wheat |
Description
- Since autumn 2015, the whole experiment (both plots) has been sown to winter wheat, the same variety as is grown on Broadbalk. A small amount of N fertilizer (50 kg N ha-1) is applied in spring (mid-April), but to maintain the low soil P and K status, no other fertilizers are applied. No yields or crop samples have been taken since harvest 2015.
Design
- Period: 2016 - Now
- Number of Plots: 1
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Wheat |
Site: Hoosfield - Rothamsted
- Experiment Site: Rothamsted
- Description: The experiment is sited on part of Hoosfield that had received no applications of fertilizers or manures since 1851.
- Visit Permitted?: Yes
- Visiting Arrangments: By arrangement with Dr Andy Gregory, LTE Manager
- Elevation: 131 Metres
- Geolocation: 51.812632, -0.375997
Soil
- Type: Luvisol
Datasets for Alternate Wheat and Fallow
are only available through e-RAdata. Please register for access.
License
These media (images and videos) are
available under a Creative Commons
Attribution Licence (4.0) with attribution to Rothamsted Research.
Images
Key References
1991
- Jenkinson, D.S.(1991) "The Rothamsted long-term experiments: are they still of use?", Agronomy Journal, 83, 2-10
DOI: 10.2134/agronj1991.00021962008300010008x
1985
- Glynne, M.D. , Fitt, B.D.L. and Hornby, D.(1985) "Gibellina cerealis, an unusual pathogen of wheat", Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 84, 653-659
1957
- Anon(1957) "Alternate wheat and fallow, Hoosfield, in 'Field Experiments Section'", Rothamsted Experimental Station Report for 1956 , , 184-187
Get from eRAdoc: ResReport1956-175-189
1936
- Glynne, M.D.(1936) "Some new British records of fungi on wheat, Cercosporella herpotrichoides Fron. Gibellina cerealis Pass. and Ophiobolus herpotrichus (Fr.) Sacc.", Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 20, 120-122
We only use analytics cookies on this site. Please refer to our Privacy and cookies policy
For further information and assistance, please contact the e-RA curators, Sarah Perryman and Margaret Glendining using the e-RA email address: era@rothamsted.ac.uk