Map It; On the road to Texas Tech's Quaker Ave. Research Farm
Texas Tech's Quaker Avenue Research Farm is a 130-acre farm operated by the Department of Plant and Soil Science. Researchers from Plant and Soil Science, other departments at Texas Tech, Texas AgriLife Research, Texas AgriLife Extension, and many agribusiness companies conduct research at the farm.
The facility is located at 200 N. Quaker Ave., just north of 4th street, less than a 10 minute drive from the center of the Texas Tech campus. It is at 33° 41' 36.4596" N, -101° 54' 18.612"W, elevation is 3,256 feet (992 m) above sea level, and average annual rainfall is 18.6 in (472 mm). Average dates of last and first frosts are April 1 and November 9, respectively.
The farm has 120 acres for large- and small-plot research, and 13 acres for turfgrass research. The entire farm is irrigated from two groundwater wells producing 800 gallons per minute. More than 75 acres are equipped with subsurface drip irrigation.
Subsurface drip irrigation allows efficient use of irrigation water, and is an excellent research tool. The turfgrass is irrigated by sprinkler irrigation, and the balance of the farm is irrigated by surface flood irrigation. One of the department's long-term goals is to equip the entire 120 acres of plot research area with water-saving irrigation system.
Meanwhile, Lubbock itself is at the center of the "largest cotton patch in the world", and much of the farm is devoted to research on cotton, including breeding, irrigation response research, evaluation of crop protection chemicals and regulated events and more.
Other crops found on the Quaker Ave. farm include various turfgrasses, onions, corn, peanuts, grain sorghum and wildflowers. Castor, canola, soybean, mustard, and safflower are also under study due to their potential as biofuel crops.
Industry partners have provided funds for operation and improvement of the Research Farm. They include the Plains Cotton Growers, High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1, Cotton Incorporated, Texas Peanut Producers Board, Texas Corn Producers Board, National Sorghum Producers, Bayer CropScience and Monsanto.
CONTACT: Eric Hequet, Department Chair, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2838 or eric.hequet@ttu.edu
1008NM15/ Photo Credit: Norman Martin / TTU-CASNR
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