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 in the Reddish Prairies Resource Area and included 285 acres of agricultural land and river bottom on the eastern edge of Chickasha. The overflow areas located in the Washita River bottom were used for production of bermudagrass and small grains pastures, and the soils on the terrace bordering the stream bottom were used to support field research programs. 

 

The Washita Watershed Research Program of the United States Department of Agriculture until the early 2000s, monitoring precipitation and runoff events and sediments from drainage channels in the Washita Valley and adjacent areas. 

Past Research

For the first several years, the OSU 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 was originally conducted with dryland production, but a sprinkler irrigation system was added in 1955 and a gated piping system for row irrigation in 1958. After 29 acres of the land was developed for irrigation in 1963, there were 115 acres under irrigation. 

 

In the 1960s and 1970s, additional commodity crops were added to the research mix: small grains, grain and forage sorghum, 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 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 Betche pasture at Minco was established in 2016 for conducting pasture and hay management demonstrations. In its first year, 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 with researchers adjusting nitrogen and fertilizer applications to modify plant communities to be more productive forage species.