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New Mexico State University

Projects & Results

The NMSU Agricultural Science Center (ASC) researches many varieties of trees, grasses, vegetables, and fruits. Currently, the ASC is performing research in their vineyards by testing the quality of the grapes for both winemaking and table appeal.

Plant genetic engineering, using the latest cell and tissue culture techniques, has been initiated at the ASC to work on salt tolerant crops and native plant propagation. Salinity is a serious problem in New Mexico due to prolonged irrigation of surface or sub-surface water containing a high-salt content, with little or no leaching in the field soil.

Development of economic crops with high salt tolerance could utilize the abundant supply of underground saline water that is unsuitable for industrial or domestic purposes.

Los Lunas Experiment Compares Furrows and Drip

LOS LUNAS - Which irrigation technique is more efficient for vegetable gardening - furrow or drip? And which will have a better yield and profit margin? These are questions under study at New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center in Los Lunas that researchers hope to answer, at least in part, by this summer's field day in mid-August. 'We are planting two gardens, each a third of an acre, with identical rows of vegetables. The only difference will be how we water the plants,' said Ron Walser, urban small farm specialist. Valencia County Master Gardeners and interested residents recently helped install the irrigation tapes in the field.

"We will meter the water use in each garden, record the labor required by each system and ultimately determine the difference in yield." Walser said the project will include selling the produce at farmers' markets to determine the profitability of the two systems. Before planting, the fields were prepared for traditional furrow irrigation, and for drip irrigation, which involved placing irrigation tape the length of the row in three configurations.

The list of produce being planted includes cantaloupe, green chile, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke, Swiss chard, beets, lettuce, squash, okra and cole crops such as cabbage that enjoy the cool season and are somewhat cold tolerant. Included in the planting will be herbs and cut flowers.

The cost for the irrigation system which Walser says will serve two growing seasons, is approximately $120 for 5,000 feet of the irrigation tape and $100 for a 3,000-foot roll of plastic. In addition, a PVC pipe system was installed at the head of each row to bring the water to the field. This system includes filters, volume meter, fertilizer injection system and pressure control that will maintain the water at 10 pounds of pressure.

The field test is among the various projects Walser is starting at the Los Lunas research farm to introduce new farming techniques for small acreage in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. In addition, an orchard with nearly 100 varieties of fruits has been planted.

"By our field day on Aug. 15, we should have a fully producing commercial garden," Walser said. "The orchard will not be producing fruit until next year."

USDA-NRCS PMC Research Areas

Developing a conservation plant is essentially a six-step process:

  1. Once a problem is identified, assemblies of promising species are made. These assemblies, known as accessions, include both native and foreign ecotypes. The accessions are planted in a nursery and evaluated for those characteristics important to solving the problem.
  2. Once the field is narrowed to a few selections, seed increase begins to provide sufficient material for advanced testing.
  3. In advanced testing, plants are rigorously screened to select the best accession for that conservation purpose. In this stage cultural practices such as seed production and planting techniques are refined.
  4. The testing continues when selected plants are used in field plantings (FPs). In FPs, potential releases are evaluated under the actual conditions that are present on the problem sites. FPs are often done by landowners and targeted users.
  5. The plant becomes a released variety when it has passed all screening and field planting phases. At this time, a name is assigned. Information programs notify potential users of the release, and its potential value as a conservation plant.
  6. Once a plant is released, the PMC maintains foundation seed production to ensure sufficient amounts of seed. The foundation seed stocks are distributed to commercial seed producers for their seed production activities and marketing.

USDA-NRCS PMC Releases

The Los Lunas Plant Materials Center has released 31 grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees for conservation use. This represents more releases than any other PMC. Among the Los Lunas PMC releases are:

  • 'Barranco' Desert Willow
  • 'Hachita' Blue Grama
  • 'Bandera' Rocky Mtn. Penstemon
  • 'Ganada' Yellow Bluestem
  • 'Jose' Tall Wheatgrass
  • 'Luna' Pubescent Wheatgrass