Spring Break
Farm analyzes growth chemicals
Caitlin Mahon (Rutgers U.)
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Science and Technology
- Page 1 of 1
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Tomatoes are cropping up in Rutgers University's backyard as part of ongoing agricultural research project. There are eight different off-campus research stations conducting experiments to determine the best way to produce a variety of crops, ranging from vegetables to trees to small fruits.
One of the largest stations, the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center, located in Upper Deerfield, N.J., specializes in the production of high-quality vegetable crops, field crops, trees, small fruits and ornamentals. The facility emphasizes integrated pest management as well as crop production.
"Each station tests different crops and how they grow in different parts of the state," said Michele Hujber, the public relations specialist for Cook College and New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Resource Center. "Our doing that is part of a state mandate, funded through the state."
"Our guys here are specialists with Ph.D's, and their job is the meaty gritty works of farming," said Bill Nicholson, the director of the RAREC. "We are responsible for making recommendations for chemical usage. We have specialists for each type of crop we produce."
RAREC tests the production of crops using various chemicals to determine the effects of the chemicals and the best time of the year to use them, Nicholson said.
"This is a part of a larger, multi-state breeding program," Nicholson said. "We cannot produce some crops without chemicals. We try to find out the best chemical to use and the best way to use it."
Companies send materials to the RAREC that aren't yet approved for use in production by the company yet. RAREC works with the United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to test these materials on the production of certain crops, Nicholson said.
"If the materials meet the standards EPA requires, they give the company registration to use that material in production," Nicholson said.
According to Nicholson, it is illegal to use a registered material on other crops. You can have a material registered for the production of up to five crops, but no more.
"The materials are already there - we are just testing them to see if they can be used on other crops," Nicholson said.
University undergraduate and graduate students are currently interning at RAREC, as well as students from nearby community colleges.
The center allows high school and community college classes to tour the center so they can see what is actually done in the fields.
"Field research is 99 percent of what field work is," Nicholson said. "It's not just in a lab. And there is a difference in the way scientists conduct their research here than scientists do in a lab."
One of the largest stations, the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center, located in Upper Deerfield, N.J., specializes in the production of high-quality vegetable crops, field crops, trees, small fruits and ornamentals. The facility emphasizes integrated pest management as well as crop production.
"Each station tests different crops and how they grow in different parts of the state," said Michele Hujber, the public relations specialist for Cook College and New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Resource Center. "Our doing that is part of a state mandate, funded through the state."
"Our guys here are specialists with Ph.D's, and their job is the meaty gritty works of farming," said Bill Nicholson, the director of the RAREC. "We are responsible for making recommendations for chemical usage. We have specialists for each type of crop we produce."
RAREC tests the production of crops using various chemicals to determine the effects of the chemicals and the best time of the year to use them, Nicholson said.
"This is a part of a larger, multi-state breeding program," Nicholson said. "We cannot produce some crops without chemicals. We try to find out the best chemical to use and the best way to use it."
Companies send materials to the RAREC that aren't yet approved for use in production by the company yet. RAREC works with the United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to test these materials on the production of certain crops, Nicholson said.
"If the materials meet the standards EPA requires, they give the company registration to use that material in production," Nicholson said.
According to Nicholson, it is illegal to use a registered material on other crops. You can have a material registered for the production of up to five crops, but no more.
"The materials are already there - we are just testing them to see if they can be used on other crops," Nicholson said.
University undergraduate and graduate students are currently interning at RAREC, as well as students from nearby community colleges.
The center allows high school and community college classes to tour the center so they can see what is actually done in the fields.
"Field research is 99 percent of what field work is," Nicholson said. "It's not just in a lab. And there is a difference in the way scientists conduct their research here than scientists do in a lab."
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Stephen Tvedten
posted 10/08/07 @ 11:20 AM EST
How to kill pests without killing yourself or the earth......
There are about 50 to 60 million insect species on earth - we have named only about 1 million and there are only about 1 thousand pest species - already over 50% of these thousand pests are already resistant to our volatile, dangerous, synthetic pesticide POISONS. (Continued…)
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