Organization and Objectives

TARS is one of three tropical/subtropical research centers of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and is supported by annual appropriations from the U. S. Congress and research grants from industry. It is under the auspices of the ARS, South Atlantic Area, Athens, Georgia. The other two research sites are located in Miami, Florida (Miami Home Page) and Hilo, Hawaii (Hawaii Home Page).

Location of the station

TARS -Mayaguez

USDA-ARS TARS
2200 Pedro Albizu Campos Ave. Suite. 201
Mayaguez, PR 00680-5470
Tel. (787) 831-3435
Fax (787) 831-3386

The offices and laboratories of the Tropical Agriculture Research Station (TARS) are located at the corner of roads 65 and 108 in the northeast suburbs of the city of Mayaguez, just east of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPR-Mayaguez). TARS can be reached by air or by a two hour drive from San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.

In addition to the site at Mayaguez, TARS maintains a 120-acre farm at Isabela (about a 40-minute drive from Mayagüez), where most of its research program is conducted. TARS research personnel collaborate with scientists from the University of Puerto Rico and through a Research Support Agreement have access to six substations of the UPR Agricultural Experiment Station System. The Germplasm Introduction and Research Unit (GIRU), Kingshill, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, is also part of the TARS research program. GIRU is used as a quarantined growout and regeneration site for germplasm, particularly for corn, sorghum, and pearl millet. The TARS research team consists of five Cat. 1 scientists.

Location of GIRU

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GIRU -Saint Croix

USDA-ARS GIRU
Kingshill
Saint Croix, USVI 00851-3008
Tel. (340) 778-1312
Fax (340) 778-2986