About
the Musser Farm
Most of Clemson’s peach research takes place at the University’s Musser Fruit Research
Center, better known
as Musser Farm located at Oconee Point in Seneca. The Musser Center
is a 240-acre fruit tree research farm with an excellent collection of
commercial peach cultivars and related wild Prunus species. The farm includes nectarine, almond,
apricot, plum, and cherry trees along with various interspecific hybrids. Through a recent bond issue, the State of
South Carolina,
in collaboration with the S.C. Agriculture Experiment Station, appropriated
$1.5 million to enhance the research and teaching capabilities at the
facility. This new construction,
totaling nearly 6,000 ft2, includes 2,500 ft2 of “wet chemistry” laboratory
space, offices, a greenhouse, lathe house, walk-in cold rooms, post harvest
storage rooms, and two growth chambers.
The farm is surrounded on three sides by Lake Hartwell,
which modifies the microclimate during spring freezes. Trees were first planted in 1984 with the
main building completed in September 1992.
The farm was officially dedicated April 15, 1994. Musser Farm and its buildings were
constructed as part of a $1.5 million state bond issue to improve fruit
research facilities at Clemson
University.