Dr. Charles Piper, Pioneer in Botany, Agrostology & Agricultural innovation

Have you heard the name Dr. Charles Vancouver Piper? Well, if not, you may be grateful for a couple of his findings, such as weed killing grasses and smooth putting greens. Piper worked as the professor of Botany and Zoology at Washington State University for ten years.1 His research and initial findings helped lay the foundation for many of the great developments we see today, benefiting both Washington State and beyond.   

While working in Pullman, Piper also served as a plant pathologist at a WSU experiment station, answering two letters a day on average from local farmers in need of agricultural solutions.2 He wrote dozens of published books and scholarly articles pertaining to his studies. Piper and R. Kent Beattie wrote the first complete regional book on Flora in 1901, beginning with a survey of the Palouse area of Southeastern Washington.3 Their work highlighted economic and agricultural plants that benefitted people through spices, medicines and building material.  

From Golf Greens to Green Grass

After leaving WSU, Piper worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a researcher from 1903 until his death in 1926. Working for the USDA allowed Piper to conduct studies all over the world and bring back foreign plants that would benefit America. Piper was the director of the Forage Crops Division for nearly 20 years before becoming the first Chairman of the United States Golf Association’s Green Section, which he led for five years.   

Because Dr. Piper was an avid lover of golf as well as grass, he took an interest in golf course landscapes. Creeping bentgrass breeding in the US began in the early 1900’s and Drs. Charles Piper and Russell Oakley were the research pioneers in developing high quality turf.4 They conducted a study in 1916 on different strains of bentgrass that were gathered from golf course putting greens at the Arlington Turf Gardens, a site where the Pentagon now sits today. Together they established over 100 selections of turfgrass, which is the reason golf courses today have smooth playing surfaces and beautiful landscapes.  

Although Piper primarily worked on the location, domestication or development of grasses, he also applied botany to commercial crops and agricultural studies. He became a founder of the American Society of Agronomy, which continues to support agricultural studies today. Piper traveled the world collecting seeds for the Department of Agriculture, by visiting well-known botanic gardens and museums.   

Dr. Piper’s Impact, Shaping Modern Agriculture  

Out of all of Piper’s classifications, Sudan grass is one that he is most recognized for, a plant he collected in Africa and brought back to North America in 1909.5 Sudan grass is a tall, fast growing and heat-loving grass that kills weeds and prevents soil erosion. This grass can also be used as feed when it is cut green or harvested later for hay.6 For farmers that have just endured a winter crop killing or flood, Sudan grass became an excellent cover crop, along with food for farm animals.  

In 1911, during Piper’s world voyage, he spent a year in the Philippines investigating forage crops for the U.S Army. There were 200,000 Army horses here at this time that grazed solely on imported feed from the U.S. and Australia. Piper identified grasses and grains that could be grown in the Philippines, cutting the need and cost of imported horse feed.   

Piper is lesser known for being one of the first people in the United States to see that the Soybean would be a major crop, but his research was influential. Pipers initial research found that soybeans have great nutritional value, being high in protein, fiber, antioxidants etc. Drs. Piper and Morse’s book “The Soybean” was published in 1923 and was the first comprehensive book on Soybeans in the U.S., which was instrumental in the development of the soybean.7   

Thanks to Piper’s love of botany, the Pacific Northwest, and scholarly research, vital agricultural products were brought to the U.S., golf course greens improved, crops thrive, and soybeans became better known in the United States. Piper’s published findings benefitted Washington farmers and helped establish our ongoing relationship with the land, even before WSU’s mission was to provide practical education for all.