News from Askov and Jyndevad
A growing season 2021 is about to be over. A growth year seen through the eye of the plant grower, which has not been ideal with a dry April and an unusually wet and cold month of May.
Askov is already located in a rainy area, and it has not been an exception this year with just over 150 mm of precipitation in May. Under these conditions, it is difficult to perform all experimental treatments optimally and in a timely manner without also working weekends. Likewise, on the JB1 soil in Jyndevad, where the root depth is no deeper than 60 cm, we have had difficulty keeping up with the nutrients with the large amounts of precipitation in the spring.
Jyndevad Research Statiom, which is now an unmanned experimental station under AU AGRO/Askov, has been for sale at Freja Ejendomme for the past five years, but AGRO's management has decided that we cannot do without this JB1 site. Among other things, because the long-term interaction experiment with phosphorus and lime, which has been there since 1942, is a unique living soil archive with extremely high and low pH and phosphorus values. Soil samples from here are diligently used nationally and internationally, among other things in climate research.
The 5 rows of hedges on the site also provide good opportunities to test the resistance of cereal crops to fungal diseases, which are used by both internal and external researchers. Alert system for leaching of pesticides to groundwater is also located on leased land adjacent to the Research Station, where this autumn we have extended this land lease contract for 5 years. The old willow-poplar project is on standby, where yields and carbon storage have been followed for the past 20 years. Maybe money could be found for follow-up on carbon storage in the future?
The plan with the site is that the Danish Building Authority buys back half of the 72 ha in Jyndevad. AGRO will rent the 35 ha of the soil best suited for experiments. The buildings and the rest of the land will be sold. If we get the opportunity, we will rent room in the buildings from the new owner, or we ask the Danish Building Authority to build a machine house and crew room on the land we keep. So going forward, we are still deliverable in a well-described JB1 soil.
Askov Experimental Station is still the main focal point for our activities. Here, the long-term fertilizer experiments fill a lot of the staffing plan along with the climate project NATEF, where we have both a cattle crop change located on rented JB1 sandy soil 5 km south of the station and a grain crop change, which is located on Askov's fields on JB5 soil.
In the last three years, in addition to Askov and Jyndevad, we have collected data from localities in Vildbjerg, Esbjerg, Haderslev, Ringe, and Hofmansgave on Funen. Mainly harvest yields and groundwater samples. It requires good logistics and planning to work on the great geographical distances.