Rothamsted irrigation 1964-76

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

French, B. K. and Legg, B. J. 1979. Rothamsted irrigation 1964-76. The Journal of Agricultural Science. 92 (1), pp. 15-37. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859600060469

AuthorsFrench, B. K. and Legg, B. J.
Abstract

A series of irrigation experiments was done at Rothamsted where the soil is a flinty silty clay loam over flinty clay. The results are compared with those obtained by Penman (1962, 1970, 1971) at Woburn where the soil is a loamy sand over sand. The limiting deficits, Di, above which irrigation increased yields, were about 2·5 times greater at Rothamsted than at Woburn; this ratio approximates to the ratio of the water-holding capacities of the soils (– 0·1 to – 15 bar) to a depth of 1 m. The limiting deficits at Rothamsted were 80 mm for spring-sown field beans, 84 mm for main-crop potatoes, 100 mm for spring barley and 140 mm for spring and winter wheat. The responses to irrigation were not determined accurately as there were few years with a large response for any crop. However, the evidence is that the maximum response that could be expected for potatoes was 0·19 t/ha/mm water, and for grain dry matter of beans 0·006 t/ha/mm. The figure for potatoes agrees with that obtained by Penman at Woburn; the response of beans was much smaller at Rothamsted, partly because of severe attacks of broad bean stain virus.

Year of Publication1979
JournalThe Journal of Agricultural Science
Journal citation92 (1), pp. 15-37
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859600060469
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Output statusPublished
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) Cambridge
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Copyright licensePublisher copyright
ISSN0021-8596

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