Ideas Take Root.(New Mexico & The West)

Publication: Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, NM)

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COPYRIGHT 2000 Albuquerque Journal

Byline: Story by Donna Redman For the Journal *Photos by Paul Bearce Of the Journal

Agricultural center develops new methods for growing things in New Mexico

Michael English is an Aggie to the bone, but his curiosity leads him to investigate new ways of growing things.

English, a dynamo in blue jeans and cowboy boots, is in charge of the Agricultural Science Center in Los Lunas. He is friendly, opinionated and passionate about New Mexico agriculture and all things outdoors.

The Ag Science Center is part of the New Mexico State University system, and, through a memorandum of agreement, is home to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials Center.

At the center, NMSU's scientists investigate everything from new varieties of plants to growing and harvesting techniques. They make their findings available to the public.

They also try to find solutions for problems facing local growers, for example which crops and varieties grow best under local growing conditions, the best way to control disease and insects, and the best time to harvest alfalfa to maintain the...

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