Auburn in Lee County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
The Cullars Rotation / The Alvis Field and Cotton Rust
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, October 16, 2021
1. The Cullars Rotation Marker
Inscription.
The Cullars Rotation, also, The Alvis Field and Cotton Rust. .
The Cullars Rotation (Established 1911). The Cullars Rotation is the oldest, continuous soil fertility study in the South and the second oldest cotton study in the world. It was started in 1911 by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station on the farm of J.A. Cullars and John P. Alvis. In 1938, the "Alvis Field" was sold to Alabama Polytechnic Institute which became Auburn University in 1960. The experiment consists of 14 soil fertility variables in three blocks that are rotated with cotton followed by a winter legume, corn followed by wheat, and soybeans planter after wheat.,
The Alvis Field and Cotton Rust. In the late 1800s, J.P. Alvis and J.A. Cullars farmed this property which later became known as the "Alvis Field." They allowed Prof. F. F. Atkinson, a biologist at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, to use this site to study cotton rust, a disease that causes cotton plants to shed leaves early. Atkinson's research in 1890 led to the discovery that cotton rust was caused by a potassium deficiency. As a result, the Cullars Rotation was started in 1911. Today, potassium fertilizers are used on cotton throughout the South.
The Cullars Rotation
(Established 1911)
The Cullars Rotation is the oldest, continuous soil fertility study in the South and the second oldest cotton study in the world. It was started in 1911 by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station on the farm of J.A. Cullars and John P. Alvis. In 1938, the "Alvis Field" was sold to Alabama Polytechnic Institute which became Auburn University in 1960. The experiment consists of 14 soil fertility variables in three blocks that are rotated with cotton followed by a winter legume, corn followed by wheat, and soybeans planter after wheat.
The Alvis Field and Cotton Rust
In the late 1800s, J.P. Alvis and J.A. Cullars farmed this property which later became known as the "Alvis Field." They allowed Prof. F. F. Atkinson, a biologist at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, to use this site to study cotton rust, a disease that causes cotton plants to shed leaves early. Atkinson's research in 1890 led to the discovery
Click or scan to see this page online
that cotton rust was caused by a potassium deficiency. As a result, the Cullars Rotation was started in 1911. Today, potassium fertilizers are used on cotton throughout the South.
Erected 2006 by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Auburn Heritage Association.
Location. 32° 35.271′ N, 85° 28.979′ W. Marker is in Auburn, Alabama, in Lee County. Marker can be reached from Woodfield Drive, 0.1 miles east of South College Street (Alabama Route 15), on the right when traveling east. Located at Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 901 S College St, Auburn AL 36830, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Advancing American Art Collection (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Old Rotation (approx. 0.4 miles away); Founders' Oak
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, October 16, 2021
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, October 16, 2021
3. The Cullars Rotation / The Alvis Field and Cotton Rust Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 17, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 16, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,004 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on October 16, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
