Oldest agricultural plots go digital

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Recreation of taking soil samples at Morrow Plots

Maia Rothman, left in the photo on right, joins Andrew Margenot as they recreate some-100 years later a historic image of researchers taking soil samples at the Morrow Plots at the University of Illinois-Urbana. Rothman is a research technician and Margenot is an assistant professor in crop sciences. Established in 1876 the Morrow Plots are the oldest experimental crop field in America and the second oldest in the world.

University of Illinois-Urbana

An historic treasure trove of data is now available after data from the Morrow Plots have been digitized and made available online. The new database includes crop hybrid, rotation, planting density and yield, as well as fertilizer type and amount. It was developed by the Morrow Plots Data Curation Working Group.

University of Illinois-Urbana

Sandi Lee Caldrone, Maia Rothman and Josh Henry

Sandi Lee Caldrone, left, joins Maia Rothman, center, and Josh Henry, at the University of Illinois-Morrow Plots. Caldrone is an assistant professor and University Library research-data librarian. Rothman is a research technician in crop sciences. Henry is associate director of information technology for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

University of Illinois-Urbana

Lynn Grooms

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Lauren Quinn University of Illinois-Urbana

URBANA, Ill. – When University of Illinois professor Manly Miles established the Morrow Plots in 1876, he couldn’t have imagined they would become the oldest continuous agricultural experiment in the Western Hemisphere. Nor could he imagine, more than a century before the dawn of the internet, that the plots’ data would be digitized and made available online to scientists, students and educators around the world.

Lauren Quinn is a media-communications specialist for the University of Illinois-College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Visit aces.illinois.edu for more information.