About the National Plant Materials Center

Updated 12/03/2007

• Description of the PMC Service Area
• Description of the PMC Location
• National Plant Materials Center Facilities
• Getting to the National PMC

Description of the PMC Service Area

The National Plant Materials Center (NPMC), Beltsville, Maryland, services both national and regional needs. The national activities cover all 50 states and consists primarily of administrative support. The regional activities are concerned with developing plants and technology to conserve natural resources in the Mid-Atlantic region. Our regional service area is loosely defined from southern Pennsylvania to North Carolina/Tennessee and includes the Piedmont region and the edge of the Appalachian mountain range. The Atlantic coastline is services by the Cape May PMC in New Jersey. The Appalachian region is serviced by the Alderson PMC in West Virginia.

Description of the PMC Location

The NPMC is located on the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). The BARC facility is owned and operated by the USDA and is dedicated to conducting basic and applied agricultural research. BARC has approximately 7,500 acres that offers isolation from the metropolitan and mainstream cities of Washington, DC and Baltimore. The area consists predominantly of hardwood forests with numerous openings and fields.

This site was chosen because its moderate, continental-type climate permits cultivation of a wide variety of plants. During the summer, large masses of warm, moist air spread northward from the south and southwest. The winter weather is rapidly changed from day to day alternating high and low pressure systems in the west to east flow. Temperatures of 90° F or higher occur 40 days per year on the average, and 32° or lower occur 119 days per year. The growing season averages 162 days out of the year.

Soils on the center are mainly of sandy loams with the areas of split loam and clay. The land varies from gently sloping to moderately sloping. Conservation practices are necessary to prevent erosion.

National Plant Materials Center Facilities

• Main office for administrative functions and germplasm storage (basement)
• A-frame building used for storage (upstairs) and for overwintering plants (basement)
• Shop and Farm Management Building for equipment storage and servicing
• Garage (67' x 24') used for seed cleaning, equipment storage, and pesticide storage
• Garage (60' x 26') used for equipment storage
• Two 80’ x 20’ greenhouses with attached potting room and laboratory
• Shade-house for container nursery production
• A conference center equipped with audio-visual equipment, a satellite downlink, and a kitchenette.

Getting to the National PMC

The National PMC is located in central Maryland on the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. From the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, exit at the Beltsville/Powder Mill Rd. exit and go east on Powder Mill Rd. Go approx. 400 yards and turn right on Soil Conservation (SCS) Rd. Go approx. 1 mile and turn right on Beaver Dam Rd. going west. The PMC is 300 yards on the left. (See map provided below.)



 

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