UT’s renowned weed scientist Robert M. Hayes was named as superintendent of the West Tennessee Experiment Station in Jackson.

The West Tennessee Experiment Station is the system’s oldest branch station. Established in 1907, the station hosts between 75 and 100 research projects on its 620 acres. Research on row crop production dominates the station’s agenda, but studies are also conducted on vegetable crops, forestry, and grasses and ornamentals. The station annually hosts a Summer Celebration for lawn and garden enthusiasts on the second Thursday of July. The event is among the Experiment Station’s most well-attended events, with 1,200 or more attending in recent years.

Hayes, who was Progressive Farmer magazine's leader of the year in service to Tennessee agriculture in 2002, has 24 years of experience with the UT system. He has managed the weed control research program in West Tennessee since 1978. He also has prior experience with the University of Kentucky. Hayes has a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture from UT and he earned a doctorate in agronomy from the University of Illinois.

Hayes had served as acting superintendent at WTES since the retirement of Dr. Jim Brown in March 2002.

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Contact: Patricia Clark McDaniels, 865-974-7141

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