The annual wheat review and 2022 Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association Annual Meeting started at the historic Magruder Plots on Highway 51 as you drive into Stillwater from I-35. Farm and Ranch Director KC Sheperd covered the event- and talked about the history and significance of the Magruder Plots with Oklahoma State University Plant and Soil Science Professor and Precision Nutrient Management Extension specialist.
Arnall says Magruder, first established in 1892, is one of the most valuable long term agronomic plots associated with any Land Grant school in America. "Magruder is one of the oldest facility trials in North America- and the oldest wheat plot west of the Mississippi River." The original plot were on campus- and were moved to their current location in the 1950s.
Some of the most interesting plots in Magruder are the wheat plots that have been planted to wheat on a continous basis since 1892 with no fertilizer of any kind used. Arnall says that those plots are still yielding 10 to 15 bushels per acre most years.
There are also plots that have been fertilized with manure only since the early 1900s- and these plots can be considered organic and have provided a lot of insights into using only manure over an extended period of time.
The research that is ongoing at Magruder is useful to compare to some of the other long term research found in our state- including plots at the research stations in Altus and Lahoma- both over fifty years old.
Magruder is also a destination for folks coming to Stillwater- as the Magruder Plots are listed on the National Hisstoric Registry.
You can listen to Sheperd and Dr. Arnall by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below. You can click here to jump over to the OSU web pages that are devoted to the Magruder plots.
