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Askov long-term field experiments continue to create trailblazing knowledge

At Askov Experimental Station, 125 years of continued nutrient applications at different rates and from different sources have created a unique research platform used by Danish and international experts from widely different research areas.

[Translate to English:] Der er sket meget i landbruget i de seneste 125 år, men der er stadigvæk værdifuld viden at hente fra de langvarige gødningsforsøg på Askov Forsøgsstation, som har kørt uafbrudt i al den tid. Foto: Arkiv
[Translate to English:] Der er sket meget i landbruget i de seneste 125 år, men der er stadigvæk værdifuld viden at hente fra de langvarige gødningsforsøg på Askov Forsøgsstation, som har kørt uafbrudt i al den tid. Foto: Arkiv

Research at the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, always looks forward. Some questions require special facilities, some of which can take more than 100 years to establish. The long-term field experiments at Askov Experimental Station are living proof of this. 

The field experiments at Askov have been running without interruption since 1894. Together with archived samples of plants and soils, collected systematically since 1923, the experiments provide a unique research facility that supports research in widely different areas. In recent years, the experiments have been the launch pad for international collaboration in soil biology, soil physics, plant nutrition, environment and climate change, occurrence of antibiotic resistance, and prehistoric archaeology. 

The 125th anniversary of the long-term experiments was celebrated at Askov Experimental Station on 11 June 2019. For that occasion, a report describing the experiments and the research station was published by DCA – Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture at Aarhus University. The report describes the history of the experiments, research field traits, research plans, crop rotations, treatments, management, and presents selected results on the development in soil carbon contents and crop yields. The report also lists publications published during the period 1994-2019.


You can download the report ”The Askov long-term experiments: 1894-2019”, DCA report no, 151, March 2019 here.

 


For more information please contact 

Professor Bent T. Christensen, Department of Agroecology, email:  bent.t.christensen@agro.au.dk, telephone: +45 8715 7764