USDA Division of Forage Crops and Diseases Collection of Weed Photographs

Collection

Identifier: MS0194

Staff Only

Content Description

The USDA Division of Forage Crops and Diseases Collection of Weed Photographs consists of approximately 1,400 negatives (glass and nitrate) and black and white photographs of weeds in different geographic locations. There are images of weed specimens, fields with weeds, experimental plots of land, weeds in suburban yards, downtown Washington, DC, corn fields, fallow fields, experiment stations, desert areas, and farm land, as well as examples of well-kept fields. There are also photographs of people planting cotton and harvesting grain. Examples of weeds pictured include alligator grass, ragweed, prickly poppy, milkweed, rattleweed, Russian thistle.

The photograph envelopes are very well labeled, and their notations list common and scientific plant names. Many indicate geographic locations, and may include how the weeds affect growth of crops, how certain tillage machinery encourages growth of weeds, and other explanatory notes. Some of the envelopes are labeled "Forage Crop Investigations" and "Weed Investigations."

Dates

Creation: 1906-1946

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Organizational History

The Division of Forage Crops and Diseases operated under the Bureau of Plant Industry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The division’s main purpose was to research crops that are grown specifically for livestock consumption. It started in the 1900s as the Office of Forage-crop Investigations, and was re-designated the Office of Forage Crops in 1926. In 1929 the Office took on research related to forage disease from the Office of Vegetable and Forage Crops, and became the Office of Forage Crops and Diseases (becoming a division in 1931). This division became a component of the Field Crops Division of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Research in 1946. After the USDA reorganization of 1953, the division became the Forage and Range Section of the Field Crops Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service.

Research on weeds affecting crops was done by the Division of Weed Investigations, of the Bureau of Plant Industry. In 1953, this research was transferred to the Section of Weed Investigations, Field Crops Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service.