Rothamsted Research , previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research , is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harpenden in the English county of Hertfordshire and is a registered charity under English law.
18-554: Two of the station's best known and longest-running experiments are the Broadbalk Experiment, planted annually with winter wheat since 1843, and the Park Grass Experiment , a biological study that started in 1856 and has been continuously monitored ever since. 51°48′33″N 0°21′19″W / 51.80917°N 0.35528°W / 51.80917; -0.35528 The Rothamsted Experimental Station
36-602: A chemist. He had experiments conducted with bone ash treated with sulphuric acid and various other mixtures. It is thought that the experiments were at least to some extent influenced by Justus von Liebig who had attended a meeting of the British Association at Liverpool in 1837. Lawes took out patents on manure mixtures and began a factory to manufacture them in 1843, the same year that Joseph Henry Gilbert replaced Dobson who had moved to Australia. Gilbert had trained under Liebig and with Lawes's support, he launched
54-482: A large police presence and the protest ended peacefully. However one protester did trespass and damage the crop. The protester was later arrested, tried and fined £4,000. A video appeal by scientists at Rothamsted led to over 6,000 people signing a "Don't destroy research" petition organised by Sense about Science . Sense about Science also organised a question and answer session with scientists. The author Mark Lynas commented that Rothamsted's successful campaign may be
72-592: A turning point for GMOs. The results published in 2015 showed that the trial wheat variety was no better than standard wheat varieties in deterring pests. Source: Some of the chemists associated with Rothamsted can be found by searching Rothamsted on the Biographical Database of the British Chemical Community, 1880-1970. Park Grass Experiment The Park Grass Experiment is a biological study originally set up to test
90-455: Is Professor Angela Karp . Many distinguished scientists have been associated with Rothamsted. In 1919 Russell hired Ronald Fisher to investigate the possibility of analysing the vast amount of data accumulated from the "Classical Field Experiments." Fisher analysed the data and stayed to create the theory of experimental design, making Rothamsted a major centre for research in statistics and genetics . Among his appointments and successors in
108-585: Is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific research institutes and university research departments in the UK . Receiving its funding through the science budget of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology , BBSRC's mission is to "promote and support, by any means, high-quality basic, strategic and applied research and related postgraduate training relating to
126-500: The Rothamsted site Rothamsted Research operates: Its research programme has five main areas: It also operates: In 2012 Rothamsted started testing genetically modified wheat which had been modified to produce an aphid alarm pheromone produced by aphids when under attack to help deter pests. This trial attracted criticism from anti-GM groups and "about 200" people attempted to occupy the site on 27 May 2012. They were prevented by
144-561: The Statistics department were Oscar Irwin , John Wishart , Frank Yates , William Cochran , Winifred Mackenzie and John Nelder . Indeed, many consider Rothamsted to be the most important birthplace of modern statistical theory and practice. Partly through these methods, researchers at Rothamsted have made significant contributions to agricultural science, including the discovery and development of systemic herbicides and pyrethroid insecticides, as well as pioneering contributions to
162-521: The botanical make-up of the plots and the ecology of the 28,000-square-metre (6.9-acre) field and it has been studied ever since. In spring, the field is a colourful tapestry of flowers and grasses, some plots still having the wide range of plants that most meadows probably contained hundreds of years ago. Over its history, Park Grass has: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council ( BBSRC ), part of UK Research and Innovation ,
180-666: The effect of fertilizers and manures on hay yields . The scientific experiment is located at the Rothamsted Research in the English county of Hertfordshire , and is notable as one of the longest-running experiments of modern science, as it was initiated in 1856 and has been continually monitored ever since. The experiment was originally designed to answer agricultural questions but has since proved an invaluable resource for studying natural selection and biodiversity . The treatments under study were found to be affecting
198-616: The fields of virology , nematology , soil science and pesticide resistance . During World War II , aiming to increase crop yields for a nation at war, a team under the leadership of Judah Hirsch Quastel developed 2,4-D , still the most widely used weed killer in the world. In 1987, Rothamsted, the Long Ashton Research Station , and Broom's Barn Experimental Station merged to form the Institute of Arable Crops Research (IACR). The Long Ashton Research Station
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#1732782748156216-422: The first of a series of long-term field experiments, some of which still continue. Over 57 years, Lawes and Gilbert established the foundations of modern scientific agriculture and the principles of crop nutrition. In 1902 Daniel Hall moved from Wye College to become director, taking a lower salary to join an establishment lacking money, staff, and direction. Hall decided that Rothamsted needed to specialise and
234-986: The joint Research Councils' Office in Brussels – the UK Research Office (UKRO). BBSRC was created in 1994, merging the former Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) and taking over the biological science activities of the former Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). Chairs Chief executives Executive chairs BBSRC is managed by the BBSRC Council consisting of a chair (Professor Martin Humphries ), an executive chair (Professor Guy Poppy) and from ten to eighteen representatives from UK universities, government and industry. The council approves policies, strategy, budgets and major funding. A research panel provides expert advice which BBSRC Council draws upon in making decisions. The purpose of
252-414: The research panel is to advise on: In addition to the council and the research panel, BBSRC has a series of other internal bodies for specific purposes. The council strategically funds eight research institutes in the UK , and a number of centres. They have strong links with business, industry and the wider community, and support policy development. The institutes' research underpins key sectors of
270-504: The understanding and exploitation of biological systems". BBSRC's head office is at Polaris House in Swindon - the same building as the other councils of UK Research and Innovation , AHRC EPSRC , ESRC , Innovate UK , MRC , NERC , Research England and STFC , as well as the UKSA . Funded by Government, BBSRC invested over £498 million in bioscience in 2017–18. BBSRC also manages
288-629: Was closed in 2002, with some of its staff moved to Rothamsted, whilst Broom's Barn is operated as an experimental farm for Rothamsted. Rothamsted is now operated by a grouping of private organizations under the name of Rothamsted Research and is mainly funded by various branches of the UK government through the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council . Rothamsted Research supports around 350 scientists (including 50 visiting scientists), 150 administrative staff and 60 PhD students. As well as
306-539: Was eventually successful in obtaining state support for agricultural research. In 1912 E. John Russell , who had come from Wye in 1907, took over as director until 1943, overseeing a major expansion in the 1920s, when Sir William Gammie Ogg took over until 1958 and increasing the number of staff from 140 to 471 and creating new biochemistry , nematology , and pedology departments. The site in Harpenden grew to cover 330 hectares (820 acres). The current director and CEO
324-444: Was founded in 1843 by John Bennet Lawes , a noted Victorian era entrepreneur and scientist who had founded one of the first artificial fertilizer manufacturing factories in 1842, on his 16th-century estate, Rothamsted Manor , to investigate the impact of inorganic and organic fertilizers on crop yield. Lawes had Henry King conduct studies on the application of bone dust to turnip fields between 1836 and 1838. In 1840 he hired Dobson,
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