THE FUTURE OF LONG-TERM EXPERIMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Long-term research plays a major role in designing future agricultural systems and understanding the consequences of new practices and technologies. Worldwide, numerous long-term experiments (LTEs) or other long-term research platforms have been established, following a tradition that started with the first classical long-term trials planted in 1843 at Rothamsted in the UK.

This year is the 175th anniversary of these trials and of Rothamsted as an agricultural research institution. To mark the occasion, Rothamsted Research will host an international conference to celebrate the unique role of long-term experiments in agricultural science, review lessons learned from similar studies worldwide, identify new questions to ask and discuss new ways of doing such long-term research in the future.

“We are uniquely positioned to assess the continuing value of long-term experiments,” says Keith Goulding, the Conference Chair and Rothamsted’s Sustainable Soils Research Fellow. “We will identify the new questions that need to be asked and how best to go about answering them.”

“Like Rothamsted, the conference will be forward-looking,” says Achim Dobermann, the institute’s Director and Chief Executive. “We will focus on how these experiments can contribute to the sustainable intensification of agriculture in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

Besides scientific presentations and debates, the conference will include live webstreaming of key sessions to a global audience, flash talks, poster presentations and speed-dating opportunities. There will also be visits to the long-term experiments, the samples archive, and other activities.

Thanks to our sponsors: 

• BASF
• BBSRC
• Fertilizers Europe
• The International Fertilizer Association
• The International Plant Nutrition Institute
• The International Potash Institute