Aberdeen Plant Materials Center

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United States
Department of
Agriculture

Soil

Conservation

Service

Boise,

Idaho

Aberdeen

Plant Materials Center

PMC Facilities

The Plant Materials Center at Aberdeen, Idaho, is part
of a national plant materials program operated by the
United States Department of Agriculture, Soil
Conservation Service. The purpose of the PMC is to
assemble, evaluate and release new plant materials for
conservation use.

The PMC Manager and staff are headquartered at the
University of Idaho Experiment Station located
northeast of Aberdeen, Idaho, on State Highway 39.
The PMC Farm is a short distance further north along
the Highway.

The farm is operated as a showplace for fanning and
conservation technology that SCS recommends to
farmers and ranchers within the service area. Land¬
scaping and a display nursery provide visitors with
examples of plants for conservation use.

The farm's irrigation systems, cropping system,
windbreaks, and wildlife plantings combine to provide
a hands-on training center for personnel from many
agencies, industry, farmers and ranchers, and others.

Day-to-day operations of the PMC are supervised by
the Center Manager, who is responsible for all
operations from budgeting to planting and harvesting.
Other permanent staff include a soil conservationist
(assistant manager), secretary, farm manager and
crew. A plant materials specialist is headquartered at
the SCS Office in Boise.

A Plant Materials Center State Advisory Committee
reviews and directs PMC operations. The Advisory
Committee is made up of SCS state conservationists
from Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Oregon.

From its location in southeastern Idaho, the PMC
serves portions of five states: Idaho, Nevada, Utah,
California and Oregon. This area covers about 130
million acres and a wide range of climatic and soil
conditions.

History

The Aberdeen PMC was established by SCS in 1939
to supply technical data and guidance to the grassland
program of the Western States, concentrating on
producing conservation grasses for irrigated land.

In 1954, the objective of quantity production of seeds
and plants changed to emphasize collection, evalu¬
ation, and field testing of plants for use on nonirri-
gated land and rangeland, as well as irrigated land.

The South Bingham Soil Conservation District at
Aberdeen purchased a 40-acre farm for lease to SCS
as a permanent home for the PMC in 1955. An
additional 67 acres are leased from the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game.

Conservation Problems and Priorities

A long range program has been developed to guide
PMC activities in achieving solutions to high priority
problems and needs as recognized by SCS, soil
conservation districts, and cooperating agencies in the
five-state area. High priority problems include:

Sheet and rill erosion of cropland

Wind erosion on cropland

Riparian degradation, including stream and gully

erosion

Rangeland infested with cheatgrass or other winter
annuals

Poor rangeland conditions outside the cheatgrass
problem zone.

Front cover: Appar lewis flax blooms profusely for about six
weeks beginning in mid-May.

The Primary Purpose

The primary purose of the Aberdeen Plant Materials
Center — evaluating new plants — is accomplished in
six steps.

In the Initial Evaluation, plants with potential for
meeting a conservation need are brought to the Center.
They are grouped by test project and planted on the
PMC grounds. For several years, observations are
recorded on the plants' performance. They are
compared with commonly used and similar plants.
They are rated for seedling vigor, seed production,
forage, and resistance to disease, insects, cold,
drought, and other factors.

Promising plants from the initial evaluation are then
put into the Initial Seed Increase. Seeds of selected
plants are grown in small blocks on the PMC grounds,
usually one-tenth acre or less in size. During this
period, seed is harvested to provide material for
continued observation and evaluation.

With enough seed grown and collected. Advanced
Testing begins. Plants are tried in small plantings off
the PMC gounds under selected soil and climatic
conditions. Exposing plants to extremes of soil and
weather identifies the versatile, hardy performers.
Time and time again, the staff finds there is one seed
source that has a stronger seedling, grows faster on
different sites, has drought and cold tolerances, and

good prospects as a commercially attractive plant. The
superior plants of each species are selected for breeder
stock.

Supplemental Evaluations and tests continue to
determine how the selected plants compare with
commonly used plants in culture, management, and
seed production techniques. One or two-acre fields are
planted, and seed is produced on the PMC grounds.

When enough seed has been gathered, the off-Center
Field Plantings start. Plantings by soil conservation
district cooperators in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, California
and Oregon test the performance of these new strains
and varieties under actual use conditions.

Plants showing superior performance during these
steps are given a variety name and released for
commercial seed production in cooperation with state
agricultural experiment stations and other agencies.

After a new plant variety is released, the PMC
continues to produce breeder and foundation seed as
long as the variety is in demand.

The Center also works with commercial seed growers.
Growers can obtain foundation seed for strains of new
plants through crop improvement associations,
universities, and soil conservation districts in the five
states.

Field plantings by soil conservation district cooperators test the performance of new plant materials under actual use conditions.

Released Plants

Plants tested at the Aberdeen PMC and released for
commercial production include:

P27 Siberian wheatgrass, an extremely drought
tolerant bunchgrass for rangeland. Released in 1953.

Sodar streambank wheatgrass, a long lived sod¬
forming grass for erosion control in grass waterways
and roadsides. Released in 1954.

Topar pubescent wheatgrass, a long lived sod
former; tolerates alkali and low soil fertility; used for
pasture, rangeland and erosion control. Released in
1957.

Regar meadow bromegrass has strong seedling
vigor, rapid regrowth, drought tolerance, and is winter
hardy; used for irrigated hay or pastures. Released in
1966.

Tegmar dwarf intermediate wheatgrass, a long
lived late maturing sod former for erosion control.
Released in 1968.

Nezpar Indian ricegrass, a bunchgrass for winter
forage for livestock and wildlife. Released in 1978.

Magnar basin wildrye, a bunchgrass for stabilizing
gullies, wind erosion protection, rangeland, wildlife
food and cover. Released in 1979.

Appar lewis flax, a perennial forb for seeding range,
minespoils, highway rights-of-way; can also be used
as an ornamental in parks, highway rest stops, etc.
Released in 1980.

Delar small burnet, an evergreen forb for range
restoration and disturbed area seedings. Released in
1981.

Ephraim crested wheatgrass, a persistent sod
forming grass for arid range conditions; used for
stabilization of disturbed sites, critical areas and
erosion control. Released in 1983.

Paiute orchardgrass, a long lived high producing
grass that is both drought and shade tolerant; used for
dryland pasture and range seedings; has excellent
palatability. Released in 1983.

Magnar basin wildrye is well adapted to southern Idaho,
Northern Utah and Nevada. It has good tolerance to salt and
alkali.

Regar meadow bromegrass is a good erosion control plant
that also provides food and cover for wildlife.

915058

Conservation Districts are Important

Soil conservation districts play an important part in the
plant materials program.

Districts are subdivisions of state government with
legal responsibility to plan and implement a broad
program of soil and water conservation. They receive
technical assistance and other help from a variety of
sources, but primarily from the Soil Conservation
Service.

Districts define conservation problems experienced in
the communities they serve. Their recommendations
form the basis for establishing priorities for plant
testing at the Aberdeen PMC.

Field testing away from the PMC is done on the land
of individuals or groups cooperating with conservation
districts.

Finally, district leaders help demonstrate and promote
the use of new plants proven beneficial to conserva¬
tion programs.

Technology Transfer

Without commercial large-scale production by private
growers, the selection of superior plants by the PMC
would be in vain. The PMC staff often works with
growers to help them establish quality fields.

The PMC's credibility is on the line as they release
their test data and knowledge of the plant and define
how and where to successfully use it. As a result, it
takes time to test and gain confidence about a plant's
performance. The entire evaluation process generally
takes from 10 to 15 years. The plant's credibility is the
PMC's credibility. The plants emerging from the plant
materials program will survive our generation. They
will help our families in the future by retaining or
improving the quality of our region. Generations of
wildlife and livestock will use the plants resulting
from this program.

The Aberdeen PMC maintains a data base, accessible
by computer, on plants that are or have been tested.
Technical and specific project reports are issued
periodically. The PMC staff is willing to discuss their
data and show you around the Plant Materials Center
at any time. Visitors are always welcome.

This windbreak on the PMC farm demonstrates the use of five different shrubs and trees that also provide food and cover for
wildlife.

Cooperating Agencies

U.S. Department of Agriculture

• Agricultural Research Service

• Forest Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

• Bureau of Land Management

• Bureau of Reclamation
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Utah Department of Wildlife Resources
University of Idaho

University of Nevada
Utah State University
Soil Conservation Districts in

• Idaho

• Nevada

• Utah

• California

• Oregon

Arrowleaf balsamroot is in the initial evaluation stage of
testing at the PMC. It has potential for providing diversity in
rangeland and critical area seedings and is palatable to
wildlife.

September 1988

For more information:

Contact your local Soil Conservation Service
Office or the Aberdeen Plant Materials Center,
P.O. Box A A, Aberdeen, Idaho 83210,
phone 208-397-4181.

All programs and services of the Soil Conservation
Service are offered on a nondiscrimnatory basis,
without regard to race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, age, marital status, or handicap.