Example yields derived from the data. Lime applications indicated by the arrows
This dataset contains the annual grain and straw yields of the Woburn Continuous Barley experiment, 1877-1926. Also grain %N for most plots and years. Details of the fertilizer, manure and lime treatments are also included. There was a parallel experiment at Woburn testing the same treatments on the yield of continuous winter wheat. This experiment also mirrored the continuous spring barley experiment on the silty clay loam soil at Hoosfield, Rothamsted, started in 1852. The soil at Woburn contained little free calcium carbonate, and soil pH was 6.1 in 1876. Consequently, where ammonium sulphate was applied (plots 2, 5 and 8) the soil soon became acidic and yields declined markedly within 20 years. These were the first experiments in the UK where lime was applied to try to correct soil acidity.
This experiment tested different fertilizer, manure and lime treatments on the yield of continuous spring barley grown on a sandy loam soil at Woburn. Originally 11 plots (1-11), some were divided into sub-plots (a and b) from 1882, and into sub sub-plots (i and ii) from 1905, to test different treatments, mainly with and without lime. To allow comparison of the different treatments, yields are shown for all 50 years for each sub-plot.
Grain and straw yields at field moisture content, approximately 85%, though this was not recorded. Grain % N content measured in grain dried at 100 degrees C, assumed to be 100% dry matter. Grain %N not recorded for all plots. Harvest dates not recorded.
Rothamsted Research
This dataset is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (4.0).
YOU MUST CITE AS: Margaret Glendining (2022). Dataset: Woburn Continuous Barley Experiment yields 1877-1926 Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research https://doi.org/10.23637/wxb6-yield7726-01
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Individual plot yields are taken from Russell and Voelcker (1936) appendix tables. The treatment details were taken from Glendining 2022. This frictionless dataset of combined yield and treatment data was compiled by M Glendining and checked by S Perryman, May 2022.
In accordance with the Joint Code of Practice for Research at Rothamsted, data processing in e-RA follow rigorous standard operating procedures to ensure the quality and correctness of data collected in the field through to depositing in the e-RA database. To ensure quality control during data inputting, the data sets were typed on two separate occasions (double data entry). During the second typing (verification) the data values were compared with those typed on the earlier occasion, and any discrepancies were resolved before verification continued. This procedure also set out how to handle situations where the written records were illegible or ambiguous. This procedure avoided visual checking of data, which can be very inaccurate.
Yield data taken from Russell E. J. and Voelcker J.A. (1936) Fifty years of field experiments at the Woburn Experimental Station. Rothamsted Monographs on Agricultural Science, Longmans, Green and Co., London. Appendix tables.
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