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Opened in 1976, the Sand Plain Research Farm provides an important site for research on agronomic and horticultural crops under primarily irrigated conditions.

All of the research fields at Becker can be irrigated to test crops under different schedules of timing and amount of water. In addition to potatoes (shown here), soybean, corn, fruits and vegetables and alternative crops are evaluated for their performance.

A wide variety of horticultural crops, including strawberries, potatoes, blueberries, beans, and currants, are tested under irrigation on the sandy soil of central Minnesota.

About 45 acres of research plots are irrigated at the Sand Plain Research Farm, using water from four wells running through 28 miles of pipe and 1,600 rotating sprinklers. Dozens of experimental trials are under way, including:

• crop variety performance and breeding



• soil fertility



• land application of municipal solid waste compost



• water quality in relation to nutrient leaching and crop nitrogen use



• nitrogen fixing ability of some crops



• crop disease and insect control



• biological control of plant disease



• plant moisture response and drought tolerance



• adaptation and performance of woody plants for soil and water conservation