Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Join Mike Winterstein to learn about Walter Swingle, David Fairchild and the start of the USDA plant introduction programs. Discover why Chapman Field, a former WWI airfield, was selected for the site of a Plant Introduction Garden, now called the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station (SHRS). See some of the infrastructure built by the Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC), including modern ruins designed to protect tropical crops.
The SHRS is located in Miami, Florida and is an important part of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS).
Funding for this video was provided by USDA-Agricultural Research Service, with additional support from Colorado State University and USDA-NIFA-Higher Education Challenge Grant (2020-70003-303930). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Learn more about the history of the USDA Plant Introduction Program here: https://colostate.pressbooks.pub/cropwildrelatives/chapter/usda-plant-introduction-program/
Learn more about the history of the SHRS here: ars.usda.gov/southeast-area/miami-fl/subtropical-horticulture-research/docs/a-century-of-research-with-usda-in-miami
Join Mike Winterstein to learn about Walter Swingle, David Fairchild and the start of the USDA plant introduction programs. Discover why Chapman Field, a former WWI airfield, was selected for the site of a Plant Introduction Garden, now called the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station (SHRS). See some of the infrastructure built by the Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC), including modern ruins designed to protect tropical crops.
The SHRS is located in Miami, Florida and is an important part of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS).
Funding for this video was provided by USDA-Agricultural Research Service, with additional support from Colorado State University and USDA-NIFA-Higher Education Challenge Grant (2020-70003-303930). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Learn more about the history of the USDA Plant Introduction Program here: https://colostate.pressbooks.pub/cropwildrelatives/chapter/usda-plant-introduction-program/
Learn more about the history of the SHRS here: ars.usda.gov/southeast-area/miami-fl/subtropical-horticulture-research/docs/a-century-of-research-with-usda-in-miami
