History

OSU Ag Research established the research station in 1948 as the Oklahoma Cotton Research Station before changing its name to South Central in the 1970’s. The station’s primary focus in its early years was solving problems associated with cotton production, as cotton was the primary commodity crop in the south central region. 

 

The Cotton Research Station was located 106 miles southwest of the Oklahoma State University campus in the Reddish Prairies Resource Area and included 285 acres of agricultural land and river bottom on the eastern edge of Chickasha. Approximately 88 acres of the original station was located in the Washita River overflow bottom, which included 40 acres of river channel and banks. The remaining 197 acres were on the terrace bordering the stream bottom. The soils on the terrace were used to support field research programs and the overflow areas were used for production of bermudagrass and small grains pastures.

 

The Washita Watershed Research Program of the United States Department of Agriculture operated out of the station from the 1950's to the early 2000’s. The program’s objective was to monitor precipitation and runoff events and runoff sediments from drainage channels in the Washita Valley and adjacent areas. 

Past Research

For the first several years the station was in operation, researchers focused largely on cotton planting equipment improvement, cultivation, harvesting, storage methods and cotton ginning. 

 

For several years after the station was established, the Department of Agricultural Engineering conducted research programs on cotton planting equipment improvement, cultivation, harvesting and storage methods. The department also conducted research on the development and modification of equipment used in forage production and forage packaging.

 

Research experiments were originally conducted with dryland production, but a sprinkler irrigation system was added in 1955 and a gated piping system for row irrigation in 1958. In 1963, 29 acres of the land was developed for irrigation to accommodate additional research programs. At this time, there were 115 acres under irrigation. 

 

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, additional commodity crops were added to the research mix: small grains, grain and forage sorghums, alfalfa, bermudagrass and soybeans. Weed, insect and disease control programs were also put into place at this time. Another research program introduced was plant nutrition needs, which resulted in many soil fertility studies.

Current Research

The South Central Station currently conducts research in soil fertility, cropping systems, weed science and entomology with production in alfalfa and grass hay, small grains, grain sorghum and bermudagrass. Studies include variety trials, cultural techniques, integrated pest management tests, environmental impact studies and herbicide treatment for controlling Musk Thistle, cool-season plants, annual plants and broadleaf weeds.

 

The alluvial soils at the station consist primarily of the Tuttle and McClain soil series, which are among the best agricultural soils in the state, and their favorable structure makes them well-suited for irrigation. 

 

The Betche pasture at Minco was established in 2016 to provide a highly visible location for conducting pasture and hay management demonstrations. In its initial year of operation, 20 bales of hay were harvested from the pasture after no fertilizer or herbicide application. An annual fertilizer management program takes place at the Betche pasture each year with researchers adjusting nitrogen and fertilizer applications to modify plant communities to be more productive forage species.