The Rothamsted Field Experiments on the Growth of Wheat

Abstract

IT is perhaps fortunate that the approaching centenary of the Broadbalk experiment at Rothamsted has stimulated the publication of a detailed report on wheat studies carried out there, at a time when interest is growing rapidly in the question of the relative merits of farmyard and artificial manures. The Broadbalk experiment in particular has continued over a period sufficiently long to detect any progressive deterioration in the crop, resulting from the continuous use of artificial fertilizers. The present report1 is of particular interest, since it includes not only the continuous wheat experiments themselves, but also a comparison with a variety of rotation experiments and with ordinary farming methods at a variety of stations.