Fifty Years of Continuous Corn: Effects on Soil Fertility
2012
- UW-Madison
Long-term experiments provide an opportunity to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural practices (Jenkinson, 1991). Evidence of sustainability in continuous corn production systems would include stable or increasing productivity over time as indicated by crop yields and maintenance or enhancement of key soil fertility factors such as soil organic matter content. The objectives of this paper are to present results from a 50-yr experiment showing the effects of long-term continuous corn and N-fertilizer use on corn yields, response to applied N and lime treatments, and effects of the long-term treatments on soil organic matter content and soil pH.