Crops and Orchards — Chico State Skip to Main Content
California State University, Chico

Crops and Orchards

Row Crops

A wide variety of annual row and field crops are grown at the University Farm. These crops are either used to feed our livestock (alfalfa hay and corn), grown under contract for seed companies, or are sold as commodities on the open market. In order to provide students with appropriate experiences, we use a variety of production methods including conventional, low input, and organic.

students learn about plant structure, growth, reproduction, responses to the environment, and how humans modify plants and the environment to grow crops in their Introduction to Plant Science (PSSC 101) class

Students in a variety of classes utilize the crops for hands-on experience. Many plant and soil science (PSSC) classes include labs at the University Farm. Our PSSC 309B course, directed work experience in field and row crops, provides students with significant experiential education as they manage the production of many of the crops grown at the farm. The agricultural experimental research (AGRI 490) class also uses the crops for a wide range of applied research projects.

Wheat is grown mainly for market although the college has an annual wheat and barley trial conducted in cooperation with the UC Cooperative Extension. Safflower is typically grown for seed or oil for Cal West Seeds, a local co-op. Corn is grown for silage and grain for on-farm use in the livestock units. Alfalfa and grain hay are grown mostly for on-farm use with a portion being marketed locally. Seed crops are produced under contract for companies such as Harris-Moran and Seminis Seed. Other crops such as sunflowers and beans are grown from time to time.

students walk through a field of sunflowers

The PSSC 309 class was started in the early 1960s by Ken Bensel and later revised by Buel Mouser. Students are able to farm 5 to 15 acres and learn about the production of different commodities from the initial stages of developing a budget to planting, irrigation, pest management, harvest, and finally sale of the crop.

Currently, we are working with GPS guidance and mapping in the student projects. The projects include mapping the farm, mapping problem weed areas, using GPS to guide spot treatment of weeds and collection of field/yield data.

Orchards

A row of trees adorned with vibrant pink blossoms in full bloom, creating a picturesque spring scene.

Using the orchards at the University Farm, students have an opportunity for hands-on instruction and are able to conduct applied research projects in cooperation with the University of California Cooperative Extension, local growers, and various agricultural service companies. Besides producing a crop, the orchards find use in many of our College of Agriculture courses. Courses such as PSSC 366, fruit and nut production, and AGRI 490, agricultural experimental research, make extensive use of the orchards managed at the University Farm.

Currently, the farm has 70 acres of almonds, including a 30-acre almond variety trial in conjunction with the California Almond Board, University of California Cooperative Extension, and many nurseries. The variety trial was established in 2014 and includes more than 30 different varieties planted on Krymsk 86 rootstock. The farm's primary almond varieties are Non Pareil, Carmel, Winters, Peerless, Price and Sano.

Walnuts are planted on 75 acres with an additional 45 coming into production in the fall of 2018. The 45 new acres are planted on a clonal rootstock donated by Duarte Nursery and are part of a pruning trial conducted in coordination with the University of California Cooperative Extension. Primary walnut varieties include Chandler, Tulare, Forde, Solano, Franquette, and Sexton.

We also have 10 acres of pecans, 10 acres of high density olives for oil production, and a small U-Pick peach orchard that is open to the public during the harvest season.  All orchards are managed to provide a learning site for our instructional programs and use a state-of-the-art computerized irrigation control system.

Besides the opportunities associated with course related activities and applied research, students can apply to be on the orchard management team. These students work closely with the faculty and staff to manage the orchards and put into practice what they are learning in their courses.