Crop Rotations and Soil Nitrogen

Abstract Evidence from a 39‐year record of corn yield from trop rotation experiments on Wooster silt loam soil fails to show long‐term cumulative trend effects of commonly‐used corn belt rotations on soil productivity. Yield levels characteristic of a given rotation were quickly reached with no pronounced trends thereafter. In general, yield level was associated with soil nitrogen level. Long‐term downward trends in apparent soil productivity level were observed under conditions of continuous cropping to corn and under conditions of severe erosion.