On This Day In Alabama History: Legislature Established Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
By Graydon RustAlabama 200
February 23, 1883
A legislative act established the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) to conduct scientific research related to the state’s agricultural industry. Focused on finding ways to improve cotton production, the AAES in 1886 initiated the nation’s first experiment to show the benefit of rotating cotton with other crops. Now known as the Old Rotation, the study proved that a cotton/legume crop rotation would allow soil to indefinitely support cotton cropping. The experiment, which continues to this day on Auburn University’s campus, is the oldest continuous cotton experiment in the world and was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1988.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
Please visit Alabama News Center for the Full Article
Category: Partner News Stories
About the Author (Author Profile)
Alabama News Center tels the stories of the people and businesses powering the states of Alabama, striving to make Alabama a wonderful place to live and work.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
