The Old Rotation circa 1896 Photo Gallery Click on any picture below to see a larger version. Today, it is the oldest, continuous cotton experiment in the world and the third oldest, continuous field crop experiment in the United States. The Old Rotation was started by Professor J. F. Duggar to demonstrate the benefits of winter legumes as a cover crop and crop rotation on cotton and corn production in the South. The Old Rotation consists of 13 nonirrigated plots on one acre of land. Since 1996, corn and cotton have been planted directly in the clover residue using conservation tillage.
Cotton is ready for harvest.
It produces an average of 400 pounds of lint per acre per year. The N removed in the lint and the seed is about what is received in rainfall during the growing season. Only 60 pounds N is applied during the three-year rotation and that is applied to the small grain, which is either wheat or rye. This is typical of most cropping situations in the South.