Woburn Intensive Cereals

  • Experiment Code: W/RN/13
  • Experiment Site: Woburn
  • Objectives: To study the effects of intensive cereal cropping on yield, incidence of soil-borne pathogens and organic matter in the soil.
  • Description: On Woburn Stackyard I field, on the site of the previous Woburn Continuous Wheat and Barley experiments (W/XW/6 and W/XB/6). An experiment comparing winter wheat and spring barley grown continuously and in rotation was started in 1967. A five-course rotation of 1-year grass ley, potatoes and three years of either wheat or barley.
  • Date Start: 1966
  • Date End: 1990

Key Contacts

  • Margaret Glendining

  • Role: Data Manager
  • ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6466-4629
  • Organisation: Rothamsted Research
  • Address: West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom

  • Andrew Gregory

  • Role: Experiment Manager
  • ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7123-0784
  • 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)).

Experimental Design

Description

  • 2 blocks of 6 whole plots each split into 4 sub-plots (8 in certain years). Wheat in one block, barley in the other. Sub-plots received 4 N rates. Sub-sub-plots received with and without MgO as Epsom salts (wheat only).

Design

  • Period: 1966 - 1990
  • Experiment Design Type: Split-plot
  • Number of Plots: 6
  • Number of Replicates: 1
  • Number of Sub-plots:
  • Number of Harvests per Year: 1

Crops

Crop Years Grown
Spring Barley
Winter Wheat
Grass Leys
Potatoes

Crop Rotations

Rotation Crops
barley rotation (1966 - ) Grass Leys > Potatoes > Spring Barley > Spring Barley > Spring Barley
wheat rotation (1966 - ) Grass Leys > Potatoes > Winter Wheat > Winter Wheat > Winter Wheat

Factors

Factors are the interventions or treatments which vary across the experiment.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Exposure

Description: 4 rates of N fertilizer. 63 v 126 v 188 v 251 kgN/ha wheat. 50 v 100 v 150 v 200 kgN/ha barley.

Levels
Level Name Amount Years Frequency Crop Method Chemical Form Notes

Magnesium Nutrient Exposure

Description: Magnesium as Epsom salts applied to sub-sub-plots on wheat blocks only, 1968 and 1969. 0 v 182 kg MgO.

Levels
Level Name Amount Years Frequency Crop Method Chemical Form Notes

Measurements

Variable Unit Collection
Frequency		 Material Description Crop
Yield Components t/ha annually AllCrops Grain and straw yields at field moisture content, approximately 85% dry matter. Grass yields (1 year ley). Potato yields, tubers
Crop Variety annually AllCrops Also sowing and harvest dates.
Disease Assessment Data Eyespot and Take-all assessment on wheat and barley.
Soil Organic Carbon

Site: Intensive cereals, Woburn Stackyard I - Woburn

  • Experiment Site: Woburn
  • Description: Continuous wheat and barley from 1876-1961, mirroring the Broadbalk wheat and Hoosfield barley experiments. Many fallow years from 1927-1961. 1962 spring oats with basal fertiliser N. 1963 fallow. 1964 spring beans. 1965 and 1966 fallow.
  • Management: Site managed conventionally, with standard tillage across all plots.
  • Visit Permitted?: No
  • Elevation: 89 Metres
  • Geolocation:    52.0003, -0.6149

Soil

  • Type: Eutric Rubic Arenosol
    Sandy loam, Stackyard series.
There are currently no prepared datasets online for this experiment. However, there may still be data available but requiring curation. For more information please contact the e-RA curators.

License

Creative Commons License These media (images and videos) are available under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (4.0) with attribution to Rothamsted Research.

Images

Key References

2017

1980

  • Johnston, A.E. and Whinham, W.N.(1980) "The use of lime on agricultural soils", Proceedings 189, 40pp

1975

  • Johnston, A.E. and Chater, M.(1975) "Experiments made on Stackyard Field, Woburn, 1876-1974. II. Effects of treatments on soil pH, P and K in the Continuous Wheat and Barley Experiments. ", Part 2 , 45-60
    Get from eRAdoc: ResReport1974p2-47-62
    DOI: 10.23637/ERADOC-1-33159
  • Mattingly, G.E.G. , Chater, M. and Johnston, A.E.(1975) "Experiments made on Stackyard Field, Woburn, 1876-1974. III. Effects of NPK Fertilisers and Farmyard Manure on Soil Carbon, Nitrogen and Organic Phosphorus", Part 2 , 61-77
    Get from eRAdoc: ResReport1974p2-63-79
  • Johnston, A.E.(1975) "Experiments made on Stackyard Field, Woburn, 1876-1974. I. History of the Field, Details of the Cropping and Manuring and the Yields in the Continuous Wheat and Barley Experiments", Part 2 , 29-44
    Get from eRAdoc: ResReport1974p2-31-46

1936

  • Voelcker, J.A.(1936) "Chapter I. Historical", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J. Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London), No. 7, 1-6
  • Russell, E.J.(1936) "Chapter XX. The Uncertainty of Green Manures", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J. Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London ), No. 7, 302-305
  • Russell, E.J.(1936) "Chapter XIX. The manurial value of the nitrogen in the feeding stuffs", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J. Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London ), No. 7, 294-301
  • Russell, E.J.(1936) "Chapter XV. Soil deterioration under conditions of continuous cropping. ", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J. Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London ), No. 7, 236-260
  • Russell, E.J.(1936) "Chapter XIV. Effects of artifical manures and farmyard manure", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J. Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London ), No. 7, 213-235
  • Voelcker, J.A.(1936) "Chapter IV. The Continuous Growth of Barley on the Same Land", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J. Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London), No. 7, 45-54
  • Voelcker, J.A.(1936) "Chapter III. The Continuous Growth of Wheat on the Same Land", Fifty years of the field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science. (E.J Russell and J.A. Voelcker (eds) - Longmans, Green and Co., London), No. 7, 26-44
  • Russell, E.J. and Voelcker, J.A.(1936) "Fifty years of field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station", Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science-

1929

  • Voelcker, J.A.(1929) "Woburn Experimental Farm. Reports for 1926-7 and 1927-8. 1: Continuous growing of wheat and barley (Stackyard field). ", , 103
    DOI: 10.23637/ERADOC-1-85
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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