Morrow Plots

The Morrow Plots is an experimental corn field at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is the oldest such field in the United States and the second oldest in the world. It was established in 1876 as the first experimental corn field at an American college and continues to be used today, although with three plots instead of the original ten. The results of the experiments which were carried out at the Morrow Plots showed that "soil quality is a vital component of agricultural productivity", and that the "use of science and technology ... increased crop productivity over four-fold."