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Cunningham Research Station

The Cunningham Research Station operates as one facility in cooperation with the Lower Coastal Plain Research Station and the Caswell Research Farm, all located in Kinston. The station features a conference facility for agricultural education and training meetings, horticultural and tobacco greenhouses, burley tobacco drying facility, flue-cured bulk barns, equipment sheds, chemical and pesticide storage buildings, and more than 250 acres of field crops. Scientists across disciplines—including crop and soil science, horticulture, plant pathology and entomology—conduct research on a variety of crops to advance modern agricultural practices.

What We Do

Tobacco

Researchers at the station tackle myriad projects focused on tobacco-related to variety evaluation, plant nutrition, crop physiology, greenhouse production, weed management, organic tobacco production, and pesticide residue quantification.

Close up image of Burley Tobacco

Hemp

Hemp has a lot of similarities to tobacco, nutrient demand, soils, and curing process, and North Carolina tobacco farmers are well-positioned with the land, equipment and infrastructure to grow it. NC State researchers conduct field tests to help establish best practices for growing fiber and CBD hemp varieties, keeping it free from pests and disease, and optimizing production while reducing expenses.

Hemp growing in a greenhouse

Row Crops

Corn, Soybeans, Small Grains

Researchers investigate field crop diseases to provide precise disease management strategies. Using next-generation technologies, they are able to sustainably manage crops and improve the biological understanding of economically important pathogens.

A sandy field of soybeans

Cover Crops

As part of a 23-state project, NC State and USDA researchers at the station explore how cover crops impact insects, weeds, water use, soil nutrient levels and ultimately the yield of major cash crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans. Cover crops commonly grown in the off-season include rye, clover, winter peas and radishes.

Red, white and purple radishes

Sweet Potatoes

North Carolina is the number one producer of sweet potatoes in the nation. NC State scientists are on the front lines when a new pathogen, like black rot, threatens sweet potato crops. Through pathogen research and field trials, they develop integrated management strategies to mitigate disease and avoid devastating crop epidemics.

A bunch of sweetpotatoes

On-site Weather

For more than 75 years, the Research Stations Division has worked with the National Weather Service (NWS) to provide accurate, statewide weather data. When you hear and see local and national weather reports, you can be sure meteorologists and climatologists are using information gathered from our stations.

Cunningham Weather Station 

Contact Us

Exterior of Cunningham Research Station

Cunningham Research Station
Phillip Winslow, Superintendent
200 Cunningham Road
Kinston, NC 28501-1700
(252) 527-3579
phillip.winslow@ncagr.gov