09/18/1996

Celebrating Sustainability: Old Rotation Experiment Yields a Bounty of Information for a Century

AUBURN, Ala.- For the past century, an acre of land on the Auburn University campus has been yielding a bumper crop of information for Alabama agriculture. That acre, known as "The Old Rotation," will be honored Oct. 3-4 with special activities to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

According to Charles Mitchell, professor of agronomy and soils at AU and chairman of the Old Rotation Centennial Committee, the celebration will honor the Old Rotation and also pay homage to the importance of long-term research projects. "The Old Rotation is the oldest, continuous cotton experiment in the world, and the third oldest continuous field crop experiment on the same site in the United States," explained Mitchell. The Old Rotation was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1988.

"The test was initiated in 1896 by Professor J.F. Duggar to investigate and demonstrate his theories about sustainable cotton production," he added. "The experiment has continued for a century with only slight modifications in the treatments used on the 13 original plots."

It is that long and consistent record of research that makes the Old Rotation so valuable to today's farmers and scientists, especially as they evaluate the sustainability of cotton production.

Sustainability, said Mitchell, has become a major concern for modern agriculture. "As our land and resource bases dwindle, and as world populations increase, many people are concerned about our ability to feed and clothe the world," he said. "Scientists and producers have been looking for new ways to sustain and improve agricultural production on this ever-shrinking reserve of land and other natural resources. When we talk about sustainability, we are talking about developing production and management methods that sustain production and preserve our resources while also protecting our environment."

Data from the Old Rotation are ideal for exploring sustainability issues, added Mitchell. "Using this long-term data, scientists can compare productivity over many years and among a variety of management strategies," he said.

For example, agronomists and other biological scientists used historical and current data to explore the soil quality issues relating to soil organic matter and fertilizer applications. In addition, ag economists have used the same data to identify best-choice farm management schemes for cotton growers.

These findings and also the importance of long-term research in general will all be discussed during the celebration activities, which will begin on Oct. 3 at 2:30 p.m. with a technical seminar presented by managers of similar experiments in Great Britain and Illinois. The seminar will be held in Room 112 of the Rouse Life Sciences Building on the AU campus. A reception will follow the seminar.

On Oct. 4, the celebration will continue at 1 p.m. with a symposium at the AU Hotel and Conference Center. The symposium will feature speakers from four of the world's oldest field experiments and AU scientists who have been gleaning information from the Old Rotation itself. Both the technical seminar and symposium are open to the public.

"Prof. Duggar's original objective, we believe, was to determine the effect of crop rotations and winter legumes on sustainable production of cotton in the South," said Mitchell. "In addition, fertilizer phosphorus and potassium treatments initiated in 1925 allowed early researchers to evaluate soil fertility issues for cotton rotation systems."

Today, the site not only continues to yield research results, it also serves as a valuable field laboratory for researchers, students and visitors interested in long-term, sustainable crop production systems.

"Long-term, continuous research is rare," explained Mitchell, "because it requires a long-term commitment of time, money and land. This experiment has remained intact because of the dedication and cooperation of many individual researchers and administrators at Auburn University," he added.

Mitchell credited the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) under the leadership of Lowell Frobish, AAES director, as being the primary reason that the Old Rotation continues to benefit Alabama agriculture. He also praised the efforts of The Old Rotation's many caretakers who managed the plot over the past 100 years and the dedication of the Department of Agronomy and Soils for maintaining this research area.

"The centennial celebration of the Old Rotation provides us an opportunity for inventory and rededication," noted Frobish. "This acre of land has a long history of research and it has provided us with facts and precepts for guidance in the future. In today's fast-moving world, long-term research such as this would be difficult to justify, but long-term research is as important today as it was when the Old Rotation was established. It's information that can help us sustain agriculture for another century."

The public is invited to attend the Old Rotation's centennial celebration. For more information on the event, contact Katie Smith at (334) 844-5887 or Mitchell at (334) 844-5489.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Katie Jackson, 334-844-5886 or smithcl@auburn.edu

09/18/96