Experimental fields

Skierniewice is the seat of the The Prof. Marian Górski Experimental Station. The infrastructure of the Experimental Station is as follows:

• long-term fertilization experiments,
• facility with a laboratory
• facility with a conference hall
• facility with a Historical Room of Agricultural Experimentation
• facility with experimental pots
• vegetation hall
• weather station established in 1921
• machinery park

The long-term fertilization experiments in Skierniewice were established in 1921 on Luvisols. These experiments are the oldest existing experiments in Poland, 5^th in Europe and 7^th in the world. The experiments have been carried out on an area of 4.8 ha where 670 plots are located.

The experiments have been carried out in various fertilization combinations (Ca, CaNPK, NPK, CaPK, CaPN, CaNK, PK, PN, KN, farmyard manure) including control plots with no fertilization.

The four crop rotation are applied: 1) 5-field crop rotation, 2) rotation without manure and legumes, 3) rotation without manure with legumes and 4) 3 monocultures (rye, potatoes and triticale).

Miedniewice experimental field is located adjacent to Skierniewice. Miedniewice experimental field was established in 2011 on Luvisols.

Plant cultivation is carried out in a constant 3-field intensive rotation with a predominance of cereals: winter oilseed rape – spring barley – winter wheat. Also, permanent 4-field integrated rotation is carried out with the root crop and beans and 50% of cereals: sugar beet – spring wheat – beans – winter wheat. For part of the field, the organic farming certificate has also been obtained. Crops are cultivated in organic crop rotation consisting of: sugar beet on sheep manure – winter spelled wheat with red clover sowing – red clover – winter spelled wheat.

In the part of intensive and integrated production system tillage, experiment was also established in which crops are cultivated with three tillage systems: conventional moldboard plow, ploughless tillage with a cultivator and strip-till (introduced instead of direct sowing in 2020). In systems with mechanical cultivation, the residues of non-grain crops and cereal straw are mixed with the soil during the tillage process, while in the direct strip-till system they are left on the soil surface as mulch between loosened strips.

In the immediate vicinity of arable land in Miedniewice there is also a permanent meadow – 0,2 ha is conventionally and 1,6 ha is organically managed.

There are fertilization and tillage experiments in Chylice. The experimental fields were established on Phaeozems (black earths).

The fertilization experiments were established in 1955. The effects of organic and mineral fertilization in a four-field crop rotation with and without fine-seed bean is compered.Differentiated fertilization (NPK, ½ NPK + ½ farmyard manure, farmyard manure alone, control plots without fertilization) is used in two crop rotation: 1. sugar beet – spring barley with red clover undersown – red clover – winter wheat; 2. sugar beet – spring barley – winter oilseed rape – winter wheat.

The tillage experiments were set up in 1975 to investigate the effect of two contrasting tillage systems, i.e. traditional full-inversion tillage (moldboard plough) and conservation zero-tillage (direct drilling) on soil properties and crop yield. In 2011, some plots with direct sowing were replaced into plots with no-till cultivator (a full-area cultivator). The same crop rotation and mineral fertilization regime has applied for both tillage systems.

The long-term tillage field experiment in Chylice is the longest-running tillage experiment in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe.