Date: 1987-07-27
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 2663 will authorize the Agricultural Research Service of the Department of Agriculture to build a new plant stress and water conservation laboratory at Lubbock. TX. Mr. Speaker. this laboratory is much needed and will provide invaluable research in the areas of plant stress and water conservation. I urge my colleagues to support passage of this bill. In the way of background. I would like to inform the House that much of the agricultural production in the Great Plains region of the United States is subject to long periods of environmental stress. usually due to drought and high temperatures. As a result. crop yields have frequently suffered. bringing economic disruption to wide areas of the United States. In order to overcome these fluctuations. the use of irrigation in this region has increased to the point where over onehalf of the food and fiber in this region is produced on irrigated acreage. However. the main source of ground water for this region is the Ogallala Aquifer. which is being overdrawn at a rapid rate. This overdraft. combined with higher energy prices points to a decreased ability to depend upon irrigated farming in this region in the future. With this change comes the potential for a return to past cycles of drought in the Great Plains. Recognizing this shift. a cooperative Department of Agriculture plant stress and water conservation unit was established at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. TX. in 1979. This unit was established following a 1978 feasibility study conducted by the Department of Agriculture that recommended the program and construction of a laboratory to house the program at Lubbock. In 1983. planning for the laboratory progressed to the point that architechtural and engineering plans were made for the facility. Through fiscal year 1987. Congress has appropriated a total of $5.750.000 for the cooperative research in plant stress and water conservation unit. and $1.300.000 for laboratory planning. The mission of the plant stress and water conservation research unit. is to determine avoidance. tolerance. and survival mechanisms associated with plant growth and development under water and thermal stress. relate these mechanisms to the dynamics of nutrient and water transport through the soilplantatmosphere continuum. define the limits of genetic variablity of these mechanisms. and develop improved crops and cropping systems. There are currently about 20 State and Agricultural Research Service scientists involved in these undertakings in the research unit. The program at Lubbock has a number of advantages stemming from its location at Texas Tech University. Located in an area with typical soil types and with other agroclimatic conditions found throughout the region. it is an ideal location for the study of regional problems. The availability of shared research plots is also an advantage. as well as the availability of joint appointments and graduate and postgraduate research training programs. Unfortunately. the research program has grown to a point where the lack of adequate laboratory facilities has become a signficiant limiting factor in the complexity and precision of the research. Mr. Speaker. I hope you will join me in supporting this bill. which will enable this valuable research to continue and expand. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. STENHOLMI.