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Norris New Superintendent of Tennessee Valley Substation
BELLE MINA, Ala. - Chet Norris, a native of Selma, was recently named superintendent of the Tennessee Valley Substation in Belle Mina, according to Jim Marion, dean of the Auburn University College of Agriculture and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.
"We are fortunate to have a person with Chet's combination of work experience and training to lead the Tennessee Valley Substation," Marion said. "He has established an excellent working relationship with the combined extension and research staffs at the station, as well as with growers in the area. I am confident his technical knowledge, combined with his common sense approach to getting things done will help him carry on in the long tradition of strong leadership at the station."
Norris, who has been interim superintendent since the retirement of long-time superintendent Dub Webster, first began working at the 760-acre research facility in 1988. He earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy and soils and a masters degree in weed science from Auburn University. Norris began work on a Ph.D. at Mississippi State, but curtailed his studies to return home to Selma to run the family business after the death of his father.
The Tennessee Valley Substation is a center for cotton research in Alabama. About half of the 85 ongoing research projects at the station involve cotton production.
"The new genetically engineered cotton varieties are coming on the market so fast that it really challenges us to provide the production information growers need," Norris said. "This new technology has brought with it greater cost, hence greater risks, which places even greater importance on testing these new varieties fully, before growers plant them on a large scale." The Auburn researcher also pointed out the critical need for more cotton irrigation information for growers.
"The new genetically engineered cotton varieties continue to decrease loss in cotton production due to insects and weeds, which may make water the single greatest limiting factor in cotton production," Norris said. "In the Tennessee Valley area, irrigation of cotton continues to increase, and it would grow even faster, if water was more available."
Last year in tests at the Tennessee Valley Substation, irrigated cotton produced about 100-150 pounds per acre more than dry land cotton. And, 1996 was not a dry year. In dry years, the increase may be over 500 pounds per acre greater, Norris said.
Auburn University, in cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority recently completed an offsite storage and pumping facility that may become a model for area farmers. The 13-acre reservoir built on the substation holds excess water from Limestone Creek, and a sophisticated pumping system allows researchers to irrigate many of the research projects on the station. Since the odds of getting irrigation water from a well are very low in the Tennessee Valley, some form of storage may be the only hope for irrigation for growers not located near a creek or river.
In addition to cotton, the Tennessee Valley Substation is home to numerous soybean, corn, and small grain tests. Tests have been ongoing for several years on genetically engineered corn and soybean varieties. Ongoing tests on cereal leaf beetles and barley yellow dwarf virus in wheat hold promise for Tennessee Valley area growers.
The station also maintains a 90 brood cow beef herd. Much of the early testing on fungus infected tall fescue in the Tennessee Valley was done at the station. Some of the earliest differences in degrees of fescue toxicity among cattle in various locations in the state were documented at the station, since cattle eating highly infected fescue there showed fewer disease symptoms than those at other research sites.
Though budgetary restraints have restricted the number of new projects taken on by the station, they have been able to maintain most of the ongoing work, including a five-year test on dogwoods. The study has detected some important differences in winter hardiness and growth habits of dogwoods, compared to other areas of the state.
"Being named superintendent of the Tennessee Valley Substation is certainly the highlight of my career," Norris said. " I had the opportunity to work with and learn from Dub Webster, which will be a tremendous benefit to me in this job. His technical knowledge of the various crops and research procedures we use, combined with his work ethic are certainly models to follow."
"And, I still have the opportunity to work with Ellis Burgess (associate superintendent), who has been in the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station system for a number of years," he added. "Ellis knows how to get things done, and his mechanical skills and knowledge of farming are great assets in the day to day operations of the station."
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News from:
Office of Ag Communications & Marketing
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Roy Roberson
