Askov Long-Term Experiments on Animal Manure and Mineral Fertilizers - Lermarken

Site: Lermarken

Type

research station field

Location

Askov Research Station

Askov

Denmark

Geographic location

55.47163, 9.114015

+−

Maps

Satellite

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Elevation

63 Metres

Slope

2°

Visits permitted?

No

History

Cultivation of the Lermarken site began around year 1800 when the farm “Øster Havgaard” was first established. According to Land Register maps, dated 1793, the site was at that time still covered in open, mixed heath- and grassland with scattered deciduous scrubs and most likely used for free-range grazing of sheep, cattle and pigs. Lermarken was first tile-drained in the 1860’ies and with occasional addition of marl. Re-draining at greater depth took place following 1885, when F. Hansen acquired the farm “Øster Havgaard” that then became Askov Experimental Station.

Management

Tillage and drilling implements and operations, weed control and crop protection measures against fungi and insects, choice of crop cultivars and liming practice follow the general trends in agriculture. One notable exception is the composition of the grass-clover mixture kept unchanged since 1949. Therefore, the history of field operations adopted in the experiments reflects the general development in agriculture and accordingly field operations have experienced a continuous change in time. Tillage: All tillage operations are parallel to plot borders. Ploughing occurs with a standard, tractor pulled mouldboard plough in March/April for spring-sown crops, and in September for autumn sown crops. Ploughing depth is adapted to the depth of the Ap-horizon which typically 18 - 20 cm. Crop planting: Planting of cereals is with 12.5 cm inter-row distance. Winter wheat is sown medio September while spring sown cereals is sown in March/April. Planting of maize occurs early May when soil temperatures have reached ~10 oC. For silage maize, the row-distance is 75 cm with a target plant density of 110,000 plants ha-1. Crop protection: The use of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides at recommended rates occurs when observations in the field indicate that significant attacks are expected. Liming: Application of Mg-enriched lime at a rate of 3 to 5 t ha-1 takes place every four-to-fifth year to maintain pH (CaCl2) between 5.5 and 6.5 in the plough layer. Nutrient addition: Application of mineral fertilizers and animal manure (for winter wheat) occurs when crop growth commences in March/April. Crop harvest: Experimental harvest for yield determination occurs in the net plots (see Table 4). The grass-clover crop is cut twice in the production year, the first cut in June and last in late August depending on crop development. The grass-clover is harvested with a plot forage harvester and the biomass removed from the plots immediately after cutting. Cereals are harvested with an experimental plot combiner allowing yields of grain and straw to be determined separately, leaving 5-10 cm stubbles. Removal of cereal straw occurs shortly after harvest. The maize is whole crop harvested in early to mid-October, when the crop becomes senescent due to adverse climatic conditions. At that stage, the crop dry matter content typically ranges from 25 to 35% depending on nutrient treatment. The whole-crop plot harvester leaves approximately 15 cm stubbles. Following harvest of crops, the field (and stubbles) remains undisturbed until ploughing. The grass-clover sward left after the second cut in the production year is allowed a short re-growth period before being sprayed with a full spectra herbicide. After the herbicide effect has been achieved, the field is ploughed, rolled and the seedbed prepared for winter wheat.

Soil description

USDA Classification is Typical Hapludalf, coarse loamy to fine loamy, mixed mesic

Soil properties

Variable	Depth	Value (range)	Units	Ref year	Estimated?	Baseline?
clay content	0 – 20 Centimetres	11	Percent
silt content	0 – 20 Centimetres	13	percent
find sand content	0 – 20 Centimetres	43	Percent
course sand content	0 – 20 Centimetres	37	Percent
clay content	20 – 35 Centimetres	11	Percent
silt content	20 – 35 Centimetres	12	Percent
find sand content	20 – 35 Centimetres	40	percent
course sand content	20 – 35 Centimetres	31	Percent
soil pH	0 – 20 Centimetres	(5.5 – 6.5)
soil total carbon	0 – 20 Centimetres	1.5	Percent
soil density	0 – 20 Centimetres	1.5	gram per cubic centimetre
soil total carbon	20 – 35 Centimetres	0.8	Percent
soil density	20 – 35 Centimetres	1.55	gram per cubic centimetre

Climate properties

Variable	Time period	Value (range)	Units
precipitation	1999 – 2018	953	mm
air temperature	1999 – 2018	8.8	degree Celsius