Station Identification:
Research Station Name: Hammond Research Station
Physical Location: 21549 Old Covington Hwy., Hammond, LA 70403
Distance/Context: Approximately 50 miles east of LSU Main Campus, Baton Rouge, LA
Contacts:
Resident Coordinator: Christine Coker: (228)806-9505; ccoker@agcenter.su.edu
Assistant Resident Coordinator:
Farm Manager: Corey Scott: (225)328-5006; cscott@agcenter.lsu.edu
Station Overview:
Six miles from the city of Hammond, the station covers about 140 acres. Established in 1922 as the Fruit and Truck Experiment Station, the facility has traditionally served the strawberry and vegetable industries. Today’s research focus is landscape horticulture, including plant selection, fertility, and weed control. Commercial and home vegetable evaluations are also conducted on the station. Scientists evaluate more than 500 ornamental plants per year and each spring and fall release a list of Super Plants that grow well in all parts of Louisiana.
Key Commodities and Production Systems Served:
The mission of the Hammond Research Station is to conduct research on environmental and production factors that affect the quality and sustainability of ornamental horticulture crops in the landscape, production nurseries, and at retail garden centers. The station is also home to horticultural weed science (landscape, nursery, fruits, vegetables, and turf). In addition, the state’s Extension Vegetable Specialist conducts commercial and home garden evaluations.
Research Programs and Disciplines:
The Hammond Research Station has 3 scientists with active projects devoted to the horticultural industry in the following areas:
- Landscape horticulture
- Nursery production
- Plant selection and cultivar evaluation
- Louisiana Super Plants program
- Trial and display gardens
- Weed Science
- Vegetables
Physical Resources and Infrastructure:
Facilities include office space with 7 offices, 2 Wi-Fi-enabled conference rooms with seating for 100 and 5 individuals.
- A 1.5-acre turf research area
- A 5-acre weed science research area
- A 2-acre vegetable production area
- 3.75-acre Dr. Allen D. Owings Sun Garden
- 5.75- acre Piney Woods Garden
- 1.1- acre Shade Garden
- 1.55- acre Margie Y. Jenkins Azalea Garden
- 3.9-acre Urban Forest
- 1.75-acre crape myrtle demonstration area
- A 1/4 sq. ft. research container pad
- A 1,100 sq. ft. potting shed with soil mixer and hammermill
- 2 ponds (3/4 and 1 acre)
- A 3,600 sq.ft. laboratory building
- A 4,600 sq.ft. shade house with Dosatron
- 6 greenhouses (approx. 11,000 sq.ft.)
- Approximately 11,000 sq.ft. of equipment storage/shop space
- The Southeast Region Office (yellow house)
- 2 residences for graduate students and visiting scientists
Analysis Capabilities and Impact:
The station provides space and support to conduct field trials and collect data.
Available instrumentation:
- Ro-Tap Shaker used for sieve analysis, and precise particle size analysis of media.
- Li-Cor designed to collect accurate data on:
- Photosynthesis and plant physiology
- Greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes (CO₂, H₂O, CH₄, etc.)
- Light measurement (PAR sensors)
- Soil and ecosystem gas exchange
- Hyprops used to measure soil hydraulic properties, especially soil water retention curves and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.
Agricultural Applications:
The Hammond Research Station serves as the premier horticultural research facility in the state. It supports a wide range of horticultural applications. The station provides approximately 140 acres of land, research equipment, personnel, and operational services that enable faculty, graduate students, and collaborating agencies to carry out field‑based research efficiently.
HRS supports a variety of horticultural programs including landscape horticulture, nursery management, water resources, turfgrass, weed science, small fruit evaluation, tea production, and vegetable production. It also includes greenhouse, shade house, and container pad facilities.
Station personnel provide essential applied services, such as land preparation, irrigation installation, space allocation, and data collection support, to ensure successful execution of agricultural research projects across multiple scientific disciplines.
Collaboration and Partnerships:
To expand research capacity both at the Hammond Research Station and across the broader horticulture industry, the station maintains a combination of formal and informal collaborations spanning multiple aspects of the green industry and specialty crop production, from producers to retailers to consumers. The station works closely with the Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Association (LNLA), a non-profit, professional trade association providing member services to wholesale growers, brokers, retailers, landscape horticulturists, landscape architects, grounds maintenance contractors, interior-scapers and allied suppliers. In addition to providing strategic guidance, the LNLA supplies critical funding that supports the breadth and depth of research conducted at the station. The station also receives guidance from the Louisiana Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (LFVGA). LFVGA helps members increase their knowledge of producing fruit and vegetable crops and promotes the buying of Louisiana grown produce to the general public. Research faculty from within the LSU AgCenter, as well as collaborating scientists from universities across the region, conduct research at the Hammond Research Station through partnerships with station faculty, helping to address issues that are not only unique to Louisiana but also relevant throughout the Gulf South. Finally, the station has been fortunate to establish formal collaborations with multiple private sector partners that provide research funding and share technical expertise and resources, strengthening the station’s research capabilities and enabling more innovative, meaningful, and impactful outcomes for the horticulture industry.
