2016 Progress Report of Activities - Home | NRCS Blogs · During 2016, PMC personnel developed Plant Guides for Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and Virgin River Brittlebush

NRCS Tucson Plant Materials Center 2016 Progress

Report of Activities

3241 N. Romero Road, Tucson, AZ 85705-9233 | Telephone: 520-292-2999 | Fax: 855-844-9178 | http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

This report highlights the major activities at the Tucson Plant Materials Center (PMC) during 2016. For more detailed information, contact the PMC at 520-292-2999.

Studies Technology and Pre-Release Development

Restoration of Abandoned Cropland There are thousands of acres of abandoned cropland in Arizona. Problems resulting from abandoned cropland include wind erosion, blowing dust, and reduced ecosystem services. This year, PMC personnel started a collaborative project with the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, Pima County, and Tucson Field Office staff to evaluate restoration technology on a 200 acre site near Tucson.

Farming began on the site in the 1960s, and the fields were abandoned by the late 1970s. Once abandoned, the site experienced severe erosion, and today is virtually devoid of vegetation. A study plan was developed and implemented for the site, modeled on successful cropland restoration work conducted by the PMC in the 1970s and 80s. The work involves not only reseeding, but also the construction of berms that follow the contour of the land. These berms slow rainfall runoff, allowing water to infiltrate into the soil.

In May, Pima County personnel constructed berms with a road grader on approximately 40 acres of the site. Berms were constructed at various spacings (contour intervals) in order to determine the optimal watershed area behind each berm. An area on the upstream side of each berm was ripped by Pima County in May, and seeded with commercially available species, except for three 500-foot sections, which were given to the Tucson PMC for the purpose of release testing. PMC personnel seeded Pima Germplasm Pima pappusgrass, ‘Loetta’ Arizona cottontop and ‘Santa Rita’ four-wing saltbush in August. The Tucson PMC will monitor the seeded areas over the next five years for germination, persistence, and changes in soil quality.

Figure 1: The abandoned cropland prior to berm construction. Figure 2: Berm construction.

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Figure 3: PMC personnel seeding upstream of a berm installed on abandoned cropland.

Initial Evaluation Planting: Desert PanicgrassDesert panicgrass (Panicum urvilleanum) is a native, perennial, rhizomatous grass species found growing in unique Southwestern desert riparian environments, particularly in and around riparian and river channel sand dunes, in southern California and southwest Arizona. Groundwater pumping and historic dam installation along the Mojave River in combination with drought and severe wind erosion events have triggered significant riparian plant mortality. Plant mortality has released sand trapped within coppice dunes. The migrating sand is quickly moving onto the land of nearby property owners. The District is attempting to successfully establish desert panicgrass on the moving sands to prevent further dune encroachment onto these properties. Last year, the PMC collaborated with a member of the Mojave Desert Resource Conservation District (Victorville, CA) to conduct multi-site germination trials of desert panicgrass. This year, Tucson PMC staff established an initial evaluation planting of desert panicgrass using seed collected from five separate sites. The planting has been evaluated for survival, disease/insect resistance, and tiller production. However, the plants have yet to produce seed. When and if the plants produce viable seed, a conservation plant release of desert panicgrass for dune stabilization in the Mojave Desert will be considered.

Figure 4: Desert panicgrass crossing block, June 2016.

National Cover Crop Trials 2016 is the second year of a multi-year study to evaluate growth characteristics and production attributes of commercially available varieties/cultivars and local sources of selected cover crops identified by NRCS State Agronomists/Soil Health Contacts and PMC staff. This study will also provide cover crop adaptation and growth data for different geographical regions of the U.S., and inform local recommendations for cover crops as well as future soil health studies. The study is being conducted by all PMCs. There are 8 species and a total of 59 cultivars being evaluated this

Figure 5: Desert panicgrass, October 2016.


year. Data collection includes germination and field emergence, spring green up, bloom and flowering period, plant height, disease and insect resistance, and winter hardiness.

Figure 6: National cover crop trial, November 2016

Figure 7: National cover crop trial, December 2016


Technology TransferTechnical Documents During 2016, PMC personnel developed Plant Guides for Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and Virgin River Brittlebush (Encelia virginensis); West Region newsletters, The Grama Phone, Spring 2016 and The Grama Phone, Fall 2016, and the Technical Note, Pollinator Plants of the Desert Southwest, Native Milkweeds. All documents can be found on our website.

Tours, Presentations, and Trainings Several tours were given to PMC visitors over the course of the year. Some of the tour participants included the Sky Island High School Arid Lands Management class, University of Arizona Plant Sciences Propagation class, Borderlands Restoration group, and Verde Valley Partnership. The PMC also gave a presentation at the Dust Assessment Management & Mitigation Conference hosted by University of AZ and Maricopa Agricultural Center. Additionally, PMC personnel presented at two Arizona Conservation Planning courses for Area 1 and Area 2.

Figure 8: Conservation Planning course participants evaluate cover crop residue at the Tucson PMC.

Outreach Activities In March, PMC personnel worked with Tucson Field Office staff during the annual Tohono O’odam Youth Range Day to present information on plant identification to students.

Figure 9: Alisha Phipps and Mary Wolf prepare to present plant identification information to students.

Personnel On February 5, 2016, Blase Evancho, farm foreman, resigned from NRCS to pursue another position in the private sector. On August 6, 2016, Cameron Randles’ intermittent position expired. On February 22, 2016, new assistant manager, Mary Wolf, reported for duty. On August 8, 2016, Jeff Carter, our new farm foreman, reported for duty. Welcome Mary and Jeff!

Figure 10: Jeff Carter (L) and Mary Wolf (R) preparing for a planting at the PMC.


The Tucson PMC: Who We Are In 1934, one of the first USDA Plant Materials Centers was established in Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Plant Materials Center was created to address the need for adapted plant material to revegetate eroded rangelands in the Southwest. Today, erosion continues to threaten Western rangelands in addition to other resource concerns including: drought, fire, invasive species, threatened and endangered species, and wildland-urban interface issues. As one of 25 Plant Materials Centers across the United States, the Tucson PMC continues to address these conservation issues within the Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan Desert regions.

…And What We DoThe goal of the Tucson PMC is to provide effective economical vegetative solutions and technology development for conservation problems. The conservation potential of native grasses, shrubs, forbs, and trees is evaluated at the federally owned 40-acre farm, as well as test locations throughout the service area. Plant materials become part of advanced trials designed to develop cultural and management practices that enhance seed production under agronomic conditions. The ease of establishment and persistence of plant materials in their native plant communities is also evaluated. The PMC conducts studies and plantings to address resource issues in the following areas:

• Rangelands• Urban and urban-interface areas• Croplands• Riparian areas

The PMC works in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field offices, resource conservation and development groups, conservation districts, federal and state agencies, non-profit groups and private landowners. Cooperation with agencies other than the NRCS provides opportunities for the joint development of plant materials and management practices as well as for exchange of information, seed, and planting stock.

PMC Staff Manager: Heather Dial Assistant Manager: Mary Wolf (hired 02/2016) Farm Foreman: Blase Evancho (left 02/2016) Farm Foreman: Jeff Carter (hired 08/2016) Secretary/NPM Webmaster: Leslie Glass Intermittent: Cameron Randles (left 08/2016)

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January 2017

Figure 11: The Tucson PMC continues to work out of the original adobe buildings built in the 1930s