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
Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. ...
in the English county of
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gover ...
and is a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ...
under English law.
One of the station's best known and longest-running experiments is the
Park Grass Experiment, a biological study that started in 1856 and has been continuously monitored ever since.
History
The Rothamsted Experimental Station was founded in 1843 by
John Bennet Lawes, a noted
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
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, 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
Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at ...
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 support, he launched 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 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
Sir William Gammie Ogg FRSE LLD (1891–1979) was a British horticultural scientist and Director of Rothamsted Experimental Station
Life
He was born at Craigbank Farm in Peterculter near Aberdeen on 2 November 1891 the son of James Ogg and his w ...
took over until 1958 and increasing the number of staff from 140 to 471 and creating new
biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology an ...
,
nematology
Nematology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematodes, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable ...
, and
pedology
Pedology (from Greek: πέδον, ''pedon'', "soil"; and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a discipline within soil science which focuses on understanding and characterizing soil formation, evolution, and the theoretical frameworks for modeling ...
departments. The site in Harpenden grew to cover .
Statistical science
Many distinguished scientists have been associated with Rothamsted. In 1919 Russell hired
Ronald Fisher
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius w ...
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
Statistics (from German: ''Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, indust ...
and
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
. Among his appointments and successors in the Statistics department were
Oscar Irwin,
John Wishart,
Frank Yates
Frank Yates FRS (12 May 1902 – 17 June 1994) was one of the pioneers of 20th-century statistics.
Biography
Yates was born in Manchester, England, the eldest of five children (and only son) of seed merchant Percy Yates and his wife Edith. He ...
,
William Cochran and
John Nelder
John Ashworth Nelder (8 October 1924 – 7 August 2010) was a British statistician known for his contributions to experimental design, analysis of variance, computational statistics, and statistical theory.
Contributions
Nelder's work was inf ...
. 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
A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums (''Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and '' C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides.
I ...
insecticides, as well as pioneering contributions to the fields of
virology
Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, thei ...
,
nematology
Nematology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematodes, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable ...
,
soil science
Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to t ...
and
pesticide resistance
Pesticide resistance describes the decreased susceptibility of a pest population to a pesticide that was previously effective at controlling the pest. Pest species evolve pesticide resistance via natural selection: the most resistant specimens ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, 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.
Recent history
In 1987, Rothamsted, the
Long Ashton Research Station
Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) was an agricultural and horticultural government-funded research centre located in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK. It was created in 1903 to study and improve the West Country cider industry and b ...
, and
Broom's Barn Experimental Station merged to form the Institute of Arable Crops Research (IACR). The Long Ashton Research Station 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
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific res ...
and
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United ...
(Defra). Rothamsted Research supports around 350 scientists (including 50 visiting scientists), 150 administrative staff and 60 PhD students.
As well as the Rothamsted site Rothamsted Research operates:
* Broom's Barn, a experimental farm near
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...
, Suffolk, which is the UK's national centre for
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together w ...
research.
* North Wyke, of grassland near
Okehampton
Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west). ...
, Devon. It provides a "Farm Platform" allowing research teams to conduct experiments on three mini farms. It was formerly part of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research.
Its research program has four main areas:
* 20:20 Wheat: increasing wheat productivity to yield 20 (metric) tonnes per hectare in 20 years from the current nine tonnes per hectare in 2012.
* Cropping carbon: optimising carbon capture by grasslands and perennial
energy crop
Energy crops are low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for energy production by combustion (not for food). The crops are processed into solid, liquid or gaseous fuels, such as pellets, bioethanol or biogas. The fuels are burned to ...
s, such as willow.
* Designing seeds: improved health and nutrition through seeds.
* Delivering sustainable systems: investigating sustainable agricultural systems to increase productivity while minimising environmental impact.
It also operates:
* The Insect Survey: two national networks for monitoring insect populations in the UK.
*
PHI-base: a database of multiple pathogen-host interactions.
GM protest
In 2012 Rothamsted started testing
genetically modified wheat
Genetically modified wheat is wheat that has been genetically engineered by the direct manipulation of its genome using biotechnology. As of 2020, no GM wheat is grown commercially, although many field tests have been conducted, with one wheat ...
which had been modified to produce an aphid alarm pheromone produced by aphids when under attack to helps 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 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.
[(19 July 2014]
GM Crop Damage Fine
ITV News, Retrieved 9 July 20915
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
Mark Lynas (born 1973) is a British author and journalist whose work is focused on environmentalism and climate change. He is a contributor to '' New Statesman'', ''The Ecologist'', ''Granta ''and ''Geographical ''magazines, and '' The Guardi ...
commented that Rothamsted's successful campaign may be 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.
People associated with Rothamsted
Directors
Source:
*
John Bennet Lawes (1843-1900)
*
Alfred Daniel Hall (1902-1912)
*
E. John Russell (1912-1943)
*
William Gammie Ogg
Sir William Gammie Ogg FRSE LLD (1891–1979) was a British horticultural scientist and Director of Rothamsted Experimental Station
Life
He was born at Craigbank Farm in Peterculter near Aberdeen on 2 November 1891 the son of James Ogg and his w ...
(1943-1958)
* Frederick Charles Bawden (1958-1972)
* Leslie Fowden (1973-1988)
* Kenneth Treharne (1988-1989)
* Trevor Lewis (1989-1993)
* Benjamin J. Miflin (1994-1998)
* Ian R. Crute (1999-2009)
*
Maurice Moloney (2010-2013)
* Achim Dobermann (2014-2019)
*Angela Karp (2020-Present)
Entomologists
*
Horace Francis Barnes
*
Colin Butler
*
Augustus Daniel Imms
*
Carrington Bonsor Williams
*
Kenneth Mellanby
*
Linda M Field
Environmental meteorologists
*
John Monteith
*
Howard Penman
Botanists
*
Winifred Brenchley
*
Mary Dilys Glynne (plant pathologist)
*
Frances Sheffield
*
Katherine Warington
Chemists and biochemists
*
George W. Cooke
*Edward Mortimer Crowther
*
Michael Elliott
*
Joseph Henry Gilbert
*
Juda Hirsch Quastel
*
Norman Pirie
*
John A. Pickett
John Anthony Pickett CBE DSC FRS One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (born 21 April 1945) is a British chemist who is noted for his work on insect pheromones. Pickett is Professo ...
*
Robert Warington
Robert Warington FRS (7 September 1807 – 17 November 1867) was an English chemist considered the driving force behind the creation of the world's first enduring chemistry society, The Chemical Society of London, which later became the Royal Soci ...
Some of the chemists associated with Rothamsted can be found by searching on Rothamsted on the Biographical Database of the British Chemical Community, 1880-1970.
Statisticians
*
Frank Anscombe
*
William Cochran
*
Ronald Fisher
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius w ...
,
statistician
A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors.
It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may w ...
,
evolutionary biologist
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...
,
eugenicist
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
and
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...
.
*
Michael Healy
*
Oscar Irwin
*
John Nelder
John Ashworth Nelder (8 October 1924 – 7 August 2010) was a British statistician known for his contributions to experimental design, analysis of variance, computational statistics, and statistical theory.
Contributions
Nelder's work was inf ...
*
John Wishart
*
Robert Wedderburn
*
Frank Yates
Frank Yates FRS (12 May 1902 – 17 June 1994) was one of the pioneers of 20th-century statistics.
Biography
Yates was born in Manchester, England, the eldest of five children (and only son) of seed merchant Percy Yates and his wife Edith. He ...
Geologists and soil scientists
*
John Catt
*Jackie Stroud
Librarians
* Donald H. Boalch (1950-1962)
See also
*
Long-term experiment
A long-term experiment is an experimental procedure that runs through a long period of time, in order to test a hypothesis or observe a phenomenon that takes place at an extremely slow rate.
What duration is considered "long" depends on the academ ...
*
Genstat
Genstat (General Statistics) is a statistical software package with data analysis capabilities, particularly in the field of agriculture.
It was developed in 1968 by the Rothamsted Research in the United Kingdom and was designed to provide modul ...
, a
statistical package
Statistical software are specialized computer programs for analysis in statistics and econometrics.
Open-source
* ADaMSoft – a generalized statistical software with data mining algorithms and methods for data management
* ADMB – a softwa ...
originally developed at Rothamsted Research, which is reflected in its capacity to handle complex
block design
In combinatorial mathematics, a block design is an incidence structure consisting of a set together with a family of subsets known as ''blocks'', chosen such that frequency of the elements satisfies certain conditions making the collection of bl ...
s of the type likely to occur in agricultural multi-treatment experiments.
References
Further reading
*''A History of Agricultural Science in Great Britain 1620-1954,'' by E. J. Russell (1966) London, George Allen & Unwin. Sir John Russell was a director of Rothamsted and his book emphasises the role of Rothamsted in the development of agricultural science in Britain.
External links
Rothamsted ResearchLawes Agricultural TrustRothamsted HistoryRothamsted ManorThe electronic Rothamsted Documents Archive: digital collection of annual reports, guides, maps and documents relating to the various long-term experiments at RothamstedRothamsted Repository - research publications of the Institute back to 1843
{{Authority control
Agricultural organisations based in England
Agricultural soil science
Botanical research institutes
Buildings and structures in Hertfordshire
Harpenden
Organisations based in Hertfordshire
Organizations established in 1843
Pesticides in the United Kingdom
Research institutes in Hertfordshire
1843 establishments in England
Charities based in England
Agricultural research stations