Rothamsted Amounts of Straw

Experiment Code: R/CS/326
Experiment Site: Rothamsted
Objectives: To study the effects of a range of amounts of straw incorporated into the soil on winter wheat.
Description: This experiment, along with the Woburn Amounts of Straw experiment provides a comparison of soil organic matter dynamics in contrasting soil types, at Rothamsted (a silty clay loam) and at Woburn (a sandy loam). The experiments have been used to study soil structure and earthworm activity. The findings at Rothamsted can be compared with those from section 0 on Broadbalk where straw is also incorporated. The experiment was discontinued after the 2017 harvest. No yields were recorded in 2016 and 2017.
Date Start: 1987
Date End: 2017

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

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

Wheat straw was incorporated annually at a rate of none, once, twice, and four times the yield of straw the previous year (approximately 0, 5, 10 and 20 t/ha)

Design

Period: 1987 - 2017
Experiment Design Type: Randomized complete block design
Number of Blocks: 4
Number of Plots: 16
Number of Replicates: 4
Number of Harvests per Year: 1

Crops

Crop	Years Grown
Wheat

Factors

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

Crop Residue Management Exposure

Description: Chopped wheat straw applied annually before sowing.

Application: Whole Plot

Levels

Level Name	Amount	Years	Notes
Control Exposure	0 t/ha	-	All crop residues were removed.
Normal	5 t/ha	-
2 X Normal	10 t/ha	-
4 X Normal	20 t/ha	-

Measurements

Variable	Unit	Collection Frequency	Material	Description	Crop
Grain Yield Trait	t/ha	annual	SpecifiedCrop		wheat
Total Soil Nitrogen	%	occasionally	Soil	Total N by LECO
Soil Organic Carbon	%	occasionally	Soil	Total C by LECO minus CaCO3

Site: Great Knott III - Rothamsted

Experiment Site: Rothamsted
Description: Winter wheat was grown for the 3 years prior to the experiment starting
Management: Fertiliser, lime and pest control according to standard farm practice.
Visit Permitted?: No
Visiting Arrangments: The experiment was finished in 2017, so it is no longer possible to visit the site.
Elevation: 125 Metres
Geolocation: 51.811069, -0.380251

Soil

Type: Luvisol
Moderately well-drained flinty silty clay loam of the Batcombe and related series. Aquic Paleudalf in the USDA classification.

Soil Properties

Variable	Value	Reference Year	Is Estimated	Is Baseline
Clay content	% (Percent)		NO	NO
Soil pH	7.63 ()	2008	NO	NO

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

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

Images

Key References

2020

Fraaije, B. , Atkins, S. , Hanley, S. , Macdonald, A. and Lucas, J.(2020) "The Multi-Fungicide Resistance Status of Aspergillus fumigatus populations in Arable Soils and the Wider European Environment", Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 599233
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.599233

2019

Sizmur, T. , Martin, E. , Wagner, K. , Parmentier, E. , Watts, C.W. and Whitmore, A.P.(2019) "Corrigendum to Milled cereal straw accelerates earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) growth more than selected organic amendments [Appl. Soil Ecol. 113 (2017) 116–177]", Applied Soil Ecology, 142, 199-200
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.10.013

2017

Sizmur, T. , Martin, E. , Wagner, K. , Parmentier, E. , Watts, C. and Whitmore, A.P.(2017) "Milled cereal straw accelerates earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) growth more than selected organic amendments", Applied Soil Ecology, 113, 166-177
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.12.006

2011

Powlson, D.S. , Glendining, M.J. , Coleman, K. and Whitmore, A.P.(2011) "Implications for Soil Properties of Removing Cereal Straw: Results from Long-Term Studies", Agronomy Journal, 103, 279-287
DOI: 10.2134/agronj2010.0146s

2001

Jenkyn, J.F. , Christian, D.G. , Bacon, E.T.G. , Gutteridge, R.J. and Todd, A.D.(2001) "Effects of incorporating different amounts of straw on growth, diseases and yield of consecutive crops of winter wheat grown on contrasting soil types", Journal of Agricultural Science, 136, 1-14
DOI: 10.1017/s0021859600008558