History
The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont
The beginnings of rice culture in Texas
Rice culture in Texas originated around Baytown in 1850 and was developed into a commercial crop by 1899. That year 8500 acres of rice were harvested in the Beaumont district, and 200 acres in Colorado County. Research on rice in Texas did not start for another decade though, when an act of the State Legislature established an experimental station at Amelia in 1909.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture joined the program in 1914 and the center became Substation No. 4 of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. By 1945 the Station had outgrown the facilities in Amelia and was relocated to its present site off highway 90. The land for the experiment station was financed by a group of rice farmers that became the nucleus of a non-profit organization now called the Texas Rice Improvement Association (TRIA). In 1968, Substation No. 4 was renamed the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
In 1970, western area rice growers petitioned the State Legislature to pass enabling legislation to authorize creating the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) western research sites. This resulted in the creation of the Texas A&M University Eagle Lake Research Station, located west of Houston. In 2007, the station was renamed the Texas A&M University, David R. Wintermann Rice Research Station at Eagle Lake. The station provides 120 acres of land for research activities.
Selected milestones of the Center at Beaumont
Expand milestones
1900-1949
1909 Beaumont Center established
1914 USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) joined the Beaumont Center
1941 TRIA formed and began to produce Foundation Seed for Texas
1942 First Variety for Combine Harvest: Texas Patna
1946 TRIA purchased 600 acres of land for rice research
1949 Moved to the present location
1950-1969
1951 First Early Maturing Variety : Century Patna 231
1960 First Hoja Blanca Virus Resistant Variety: Gulfrose
1961 First Very Early Maturing Variety: Belle Patna
1961 Ratoon Cropping First Commercialized
1961 First Grass Herbicide: Propanil
1965 First Blast Resistant Variety: Dawn
1967 Multiple N Applications Based on Stage of Development
1970-1979
1970-1974 Zinc Deficiency Control
1971 Western Area Research Sites Established
1972 Ordram & Propanil for Broad Spectrum Weed Management
1974 First Widely Used Fungicide for Blast Control: Benlate
1974 Water Quality Studies Initiated
1975 Winter Rice Nursery in Puerto Rice Established
1975 DD-50 Program for Growth Stage Identification
1975 Rice Production Guidelines Initiated
1979 Rice Newsletter published as a supplement to Production Guidelines
1980-1989
1980-1983 Critical Soil Test Levels Established for P&K
1981 Critical Oxygen Levels Established for Rice Seedlings
1981 First U.S. Semi-Dwarf Lodging Resistant Variety: Bellemont
1983 First Sheath Blight Tolerant Variety: Pecos
1983 First Semi-Dwarf, High Yielding, High Quality Variety: Lemont
1983 Texas Semidwarfs Receive 5% Hurricane Damage, Other Varieties 50%
1984 Formation of the Texas Rice Research Foundation Enhances Rice Research Program through check-off funds
1988 Revised Economic Thresholds for Rice Stink Bug
1990-present
1990 Texas A&M Expanded and Remodeled the Beaumont Center $3.3 million
1990 Water Management to Improve Yield and Reduce Water Use
1990-1995 Rice Field Methane Emissions Quantified
1991 First in U.S. to Use Chlorophyll Meter for PD Nitrogen
1991 Main Crop Stem Carbohydrates Linked to Ratoon Yields
1992 DNA Markers Used to Identify Texas Varieties
1992 Gibberellic Acid Seed Treatment
1993 Reduced Tillage for Rice
1994 Revised Economic Injury Levels for Rice Water Weevil
1995 Facet Herbicide for Weed Management
1995 Blackbird Roost Management
1996 First Blast Resistant, Sheath Blight Tolerant Variety: Jefferson
1997 Texas A&M and TRIA Upgraded Foundation Seed Processing Plant
1997-1999 New Insect Mgmt. Technology – Karate, Icon, Dimilin
1998 IPM Program for Chinch Bug Developed
1998 Rice IPM Program Developed
2001 Began publication of Texas Rice Newsletter
Training the next generation
An increasing number of our university scientists actively participate in teaching Texas A&M students how to think critically and how to develop solutions to problems so that they will become better at what they do as they prepare to enter the job market. Students are our future leaders. As such, the teaching role of our faculty is a very important part of our research and extension outreach efforts. Our scientists and support staff are also heavily involved with extension outreach at the elementary and high school level through classroom presentations and by giving lab and field tours of our programs and facilities. Our Center has an extremely action community outreach program, providing numerous news releases and television and radio interviews.
A goal at our Center is to have a research program that is a complete package from the development of basic scientific knowledge to the development and delivery of solutions to real world problems. While the more practical results from research can be almost immediately used by our producers, some research take years of concentrated effort. In many cases our basic and applied research programs are so intertwined that it is difficult to clearly say where one ends and the other starts. For example, while basic science, such as the use of molecular markers is used to determine which advanced breeding lines have desirable genes that control disease resistance or grain quality, the improved varieties that result from this process represent a very important practical end product. A continuum from basic research to applied research, combined with a strong emphasis of delivering information helps to ins
Becoming the premier hub for sub-tropical climate rice breeding, crop production, and crop management
The 5-year living strategic plan of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at Beaumont outlines our vision, mission, and goals, our strategic priorities, and our plans for success.
Looking for Extension services?
The Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at Beaumont is located within Texas A&M AgriLife Extension District 9, spanning Far West Texas. For general inquiries and assistance from AgriLife Extension experts, please contact your county office.
