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The Morrow Plots is an experimental agricultural field at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Named after Professor George E. Morrow, a professor of agriculture at the University from 1876 to 1894. The Morrow Plots is the oldest such field in the United States and the second oldest in the world, with the first being Rothamsted Field, which was founded in 1843. The Morrow Plots was established in 1876 as the first experimental corn field at an American college and continues to be used today, with only three plots remaining in reduced size, compared to the original ten half-acre lots. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 23, 1968. The fields are managed by the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences.

History
The Morrow Plots was created for Experiment 23. Experiment 23 was designed to show the effects of different soil treatments and crop management. The experimental techniques they utilized included both questionable and well-defined methods. The plots were created in 1876 by Professor Manly Miles, who established three half-acre fields with different crop schemes. These were expanded to ten plots in 1879 by George E. Morrow. Although the plots were established in 1876, they were not officially recognized by the University until 1879. The original data of the Morrow Plots was written down within the Morrow Plots Notebook, which was created by the University's department of crop sciences. During the first few years after the creation of the Morrow Plots the yield of each plot was not recorded and only the type of crop that was planted was recorded. This process of only recording the crop rotation continued until 1888 following the establishment of the Illinois Agriculture Experimentation Station. During 1888 the cropping pattern would then be recorded in the Morrow Plots notebook. In 1904 another variable was added to the Morrow Plots, which was soil treatment. The study of the Morrow Plots over the years has resulted in essential information for agriculturist, agronomists, and farmers. The information recorded within the notebook not only increased the crop yields and profits of farmers, but they act as a lesson in agronomy and soil management.

In the early 20th century, the number of plots were reduced, and their size was also reduced, in order to facilitate expansion of the university facilities. The northernmost plots are the only ones that date to Miles' 1876 establishment; his other plots are now occupied by the University of Illinois Observatory, which began construction in 1896.

Morrow Plots Notebook
This was the notebook that contained the observed data starting from 1876 to 1912. Since the plots were not originally recognized by the University until 1879, the notebook has edits over the dates of 1876. These incorrect edits were addressed by Lester V. Boone, who was an associate agronomist, on November 6, 1967. The notebook contains information about the crop rotation, fertilizer, as well as soil content. It also describes the layout of the ten original plots, stating that the west side of the plots were fifty rods, and the north side being fifteen. Each yearly entry in the notebook contains a conclusion about each individual plot, as well as listing out the crop yields for that year.

Fertilizers
The soil treatment for the Morrow Plots originally only consisted of the cropping patterns until 1904. That year they began to experiment with different types of fertilizers among the various plots. The original fertilizers consisted of limestone, manure, phosphate, and steamed bone-meal. Specifically plots 3, 4, and 5 was divided in half and one of the halves was divide into four specific subplots which utilized each of the fertilizers. These new subdivided plots would then be referred to using the eight major cardinal directions. In 1955 the list of fertilizers further expanded to then include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Soil Composition
The soil used on the Morrow Plots is Flanagan silt loam. Flanagan silt loam is described as a dark-colored soil, and has different properties depending on how each plot was treated. Throughout the 20th century soil samples were studied to examine the organic carbon and nitrogen contents of the soil. It was found that despite utilizing the same techniques and treatments on different plots, the organic carbon and nitrogen contents were different among certain halves of the plots. It is presumed that the two halves were handled differently prior to the establishment of them in 1876, leading to these differences in properties. Through Experiment 23, it was determined that certain crop rotations contained more organic matter within the soil, meaning it was healthier than other rotations. Specifically the crop rotation of corn-oats-clover contained the most organic material.

Annotated Source Bibliography
The article titled "Morrow Plots, 63-Year-Old Experiment, Still Produce," was written by Ronny Nystrom and published by the Daily Illini on December 9th 1939. It provides insight into the specific usage for certain plots, as well as specific dates the plots were created and what they were used for. This source aligns with Wikipedia's reliable sources because it is a news article excerpt that contains factual information.

The notebook tilted Morrow Plots Notebook, was written by UIUC's Department of Crop Sciences, and was originally published in 1876. It describes the history, progression, and data of the morrow plots from its origin. It describes experiment 23, and provides greater insight into the specifics of each plot and their rotations. This source is reliable because it is a research journal created by the UIUC’s staff and contains firsthand observations during the time when the experimental plots were being used.

The book titled Morrow plots: a century of learning, was created by Rusell Turner Odell, and was published by the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1982. It provides an overview of the creation of the Morrow Plots, and provides insight into the crop yields and soil rotations. It also provides graphics depicting the effectiveness of each experimental trial. It is reliable because it was written by a person who is an expert in agronomy, and published under the university.

The article titled "Agronomists Proud of Corn, Morrow Plots Result in Large Production," was written by Ron Lawfer, and published by the Daily Illini on November 6th 1952. It provides insight into the crop yield for that year, as well as provides a narrative of the benefits of the plots, as well as providing a historical information in which all the plots would be removed. This article is reliable as it is published under the official UIUC newspaper.