Wye Research & Education Center

The Wye Institute, the Wye Plantation, and the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) have been cooperating, both formally and informally, in agricultural research and related activities for nearly 50 years.  Cooperation with the Wye Angus herd, which began in 1954, has been a tremendous resource for MAES scientists.  Crop research has been conducted by MAES scientists since 1966 when Wye Institute made available, without charge, 100 acres of Institute land for use by MAES.

In 1973, arrangements were completed which enabled the University of Maryland to purchase, for use by MAES, 123 acres of Wye Institute land.  In 1978, the Wye Plantation donated the Wye Angus herd, together with a substantial cash endowment, to the University of Maryland Foundation for use in the related activities at Wye.  The plan provided a blueprint for the future development of the Experiment Station's field unit at Wye and a sound basis to Wye Institute and Wye Plantation for planning the most efficient use of their resources. 

In December, 1979, the proposed plan was completed.  The plan envisioned Wye to be an innovative multidisciplinary research, extension and education center with the following six major foci:  Cattle Breeding and Genetics; Integrated Pest Management; Plant Breeding and Genetics; Energy Development; Usage and Conservation; Quality of Life; and Interaction of Land and Water Agriculture-Aquaculture.

In 1982, the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, once located at Wye Plantation, offered the use of its facilities and 450 acres of land to support the research programs of MAES.  Also in 1982, MAES formally established the Wye Research and Education Center (WREC).  Two years later, following acceptance of MAES plans for WREC, Wye Institute agreed to donate an additional 35 acres of land for MAES use.

In 1991, MAES marked the official opening of the 16,000 square foot Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Laboratory.  This valuable addition greatly enhanced the scope of scientific inquiry at the center.

Extension Expertise at WREC:

• Agronomic Crop Production- Nicole Fiorellino
• Aquaculture- Don Webster and Allen Pattillo
• Farm Stress Management- Ryan Salsman
• Forestry and The Master Logger Program
• LEAD Maryland Fellowship Program- Susan Harrison, Debbie Simpkins, and Megan Stibbe
• Nutrient and Irrigation Management in Specialty Crops- Andrew Ristvey
• Weed Management- Kurt Vollmer
• Wildlife Management- Luke Macaulay
• Sea Grant:
  • Climate Specialist- Kate McClure
  • Coordinator- Logan Bilbrough
  • Watershed Specialist- Eric Buehl

Strawberry Twilight Tours

• 2020 Booklet
• 2019 Booklet
• 2018 Booklet
• 2017 Booklet
• 2016 Booklet
• 2015 Booklet

Bay Area Fruit Schools

• 2020 Fruit School
• 2019 Fruit School
• 2018 Fruit School
• 2017 Fruit School
• 2016 Fruit School

Agricultural Experiment Station, On-site Faculty Expertise

Ristvey, Andrew - Commercial Horticulture
Extension Specialist for Commercial Horticulture at Wye Research and Education Center at Queenstown, MD and affiliate faculty with the Plant Science and Landscape Architecture Department at the University of Maryland, College Park. Education:  Master of Science degree in 1993 from the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore in the MEES program; Doctorate in Horticulture, University of Maryland College Park.  Present extension and research interests are plant nutrition, specialty crop production and green roof systems.

Staver, Ken - Nutrient Cycling/Biofuels
Primary research interest is the development of agricultural production systems that maximize nutrient and energy use efficiency and minimize environmental degradation at the field and system level. His academic training is in systems ecology (B.A.; Cornell), marine science (M.S.; U. MD), and engineering (Ph.D.; U.MD). Dr. Staver has worked at the Wye Research and Education Center since 1984, focusing initially on nutrient transport patterns in Coastal Plain watersheds and the development of practices that reduce nutrient losses from cropland at the field level. More recently, his research focus has shifted to development of multi-discipline approaches to regional environmental problems. HIs current research activities include: 1. assessment of nutrient flow patterns in grain/poultry production systems at field, watershed, and regional scales;  2. assessment of  cover crop strategies to reduce phosphorus losses in field drainage climate resiliency of production systems; 3. development of land placement options for sediment dredged from Chesapeake Bay shipping lanes; 4. assessment of the nutrient uptake and retention, and biofuel potential of native warm season grasses; and 5. incorporation of research findings into large scale watershed nutrient transport models.

Programs with Research at Wye

Animal and Avian Sciences

Slattery, Rachael 
Song, Jiuzhou
Xiao, Zhenggou

Entomology

Dively, Galen - Integrated Pest Management

Espindola, Anahi - Evolutionary Ecology and Inter-Species Interactions
Hamby, Kelly - Integrated Pest Management
Lamp, William - Integrated Pest Management

Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture

Everts, Kate - Vegetable Plant Pathology

Fiorellino, Nicole - Assistant Professor and Extension Agronomist

Hu, Mengjun - Small Fruits Pathologist
Lea-Cox, John - Nursery Research
Micallef, Shirley - Vegetables
Rawat, Nidhi - Plant Pathology
Tiwari, Vijay - Genetics and genomics of small grain crops
 

Other UME Faculty with Research at WyeREC

Brust, Jerry - Vegetables
Fiola, Joseph - Viticulture and Small Fruits
Kness, Andrew - UME Agent
Macaulay, Luke - UME Agent, Wildlife Specialist
Nichols, Kelly - UME, Agriculture Agent
Vollmer, Kurt - UME Agent, Weed Specialist 

Current Research Projects being conducted at our Center

Interested in conducting research at WyeREC?

Please be sure to complete a Resource Request Form and include all necessary signatures. Send final signed versions to Elizabeth Friedel at: efriedel@umd.edu.