|
Safford Agricultural Center Celebrates 50th Anniversary The success of an experiment station lies in its ability to respond to the problems of local growers. This year, the 63-acre Safford Agricultural Center commemorates 50 years of successful practical research in Graham County. Initiated in 1946 by the College of Agriculture, the station celebrated its anniversary on October 2 in conjunction with a cotton field day. “The Center has a long history in support of agriculture in this area of the state,” says Eugene Sander, Dean of the College of Agriculture regarding the anniversary. “The faculty and staff are to be congratulated for a job well done.”
Crops include long and short staple cotton, durum and winter wheat, barley, amaranth, alfalfa, beans, fruit trees, pecans and pistachios. Acreage is also planted to kenaf, an alternative fiber for making paper, and vernonia, an oilseed. “There is little doubt that the Safford Agricultural Center has contributed significantly to the economic well-being of Graham County and the surrounding area,” says Colin Kaltenbach, director of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. “We are pleased to recognize this contribution on the Center’s 50th anniversary.” The station has made specific contributions in raising crops under the same saline conditions local growers face. The founders chose the site deliberately because of the unfavorable salinity and highly alkaline characteristics in its soil and water. The on-site well supplies the facility with water high in salt. “In past years the experiment station has served an important function in testing crops such as sugar beets, rice and safflower to verify their feasibility in the high deserts of southeast Arizona,” says Lee Clark, director of the Safford station. “We have tested controversial issues like row-spacing and the application of methanol and other plant growth regulators to crops and alternative crops. These studies have saved area growers countless thousands of dollars in the prevention of practices that don’t work.” UA agronomists, soil and water scientists, plant pathologists, weed specialists, entomologists, plant scientists and other faculty have studied ways to raise successful commercial crops under these regional conditions. They have shared their findings with local growers through such hands-on means as workshops and field days. Solving problems in cotton is a particular focus. UA researchers conduct research on all aspects of cotton farming: soil conditions, fertilizing, weed and insect control, row spacing, breeding, planting dates, varieties, rotations and irrigation.
“Our greatest contribution has probably been in the area of variety testing, both on the station and in farmers’ fields throughout Graham, Greenlee and Cochise counties,” Clark says. “The varieties of upland cotton, Pima cotton, alfalfa, wheat, beans, barley, sorghum and corn that are currently grown in the area are mainly those that have demonstrated their strengths in our variety testing programs.” The Safford Ag center has three licensed weather observers and has reported weather information to local, state and national agencies for 48 years. “We have been strong supporters of the University’s AZMET weather system and routinely use its computerized data to schedule irrigations, watch for pest emergence and explain why crops grew and yielded as they did,” Clark says. The present staff includes a director, farm manager, secretary and three farm hands. Article Written by Susan McGinley, ECAT, College
of Agriculture Researcher:
|
The
Safford Branch Experiment Station was acquired with state and Graham
County Farm Bureau funds. Since its inception, the facility has provided
research and service to farmers in a wide area, including Graham,
Greenlee and Cochise counties.
Long-staple
cotton breeding began 30 years ago at the Safford station, and continues
today. Research faculty also cooperate closely with the New Mexico
Crop Improvement Association in testing New Mexico Acala cotton varieties
throughout southeastern Arizona.