Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of hosting a group of Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and Soil and Water Conservation District staff from across the state!

Our faculty and Extension specialists led field tours, sharing insights into cover crops, soybeans, peanuts, entomology, and plant pathology— giving visitors a close look at the research happening at Tidewater AREC. We appreciate everyone who joined us and the continued collaboration that strengthens conservation and sustainable agriculture across Virginia.

Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech Department of Entomology
Virginia Cooperative Extension

08/31/2026

🌱 New publication! The Virginia Cover Crop Variety Guide is now available: https://bit.ly/CoverCropVarietyGuidePub

The purpose of this guide is to provide farmers, industry, crop consultants and government personnel with information for various cover crop species and varieties within species on biomass accumulation, nutrient uptake, and flower/heading dates across Virginia.

08/28/2026

As weather becomes more variable, researchers are helping wheat growers identify planting dates that protect yields and reduce the risk of spring freezes. Read more about the collaborative project here: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/08/cals-wheat-planting-research.html.

Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research & Extension Center
Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Cooperative Extension
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Virginia Grain Producers Association

08/27/2026

Join us on Wednesday, September 23rd for the 2026 PVQE Field Day in Williamston, NC!
Beginning at 10:30 AM, we will have industry/crop updates, breeder updates, and field tours of variety trials. This is a free event and lunch will be served. No registration required.
Visit our event page for additional details: https://bit.ly/PVQEfieldday26

08/25/2026

Congratulations to BSE Ph.D. candidate Frank Efe Erukainure, who has been awarded a 2026 Pratt Fellowship! 🎉
Frank is conducting his research at Tidewater AREC with the Precision Agriculture Technologies Lab, where he works under the guidance of Assistant Professor Abhilash Chandel. His research focuses on developing smart sensors that give farmers earlier insight into disease, water stress, and other threats to crop health.

Congratulations to BSE Ph.D. candidate Frank Efe Erukainure, who has been awarded a 2026 Pratt Fellowship! 🎉

Frank is developing smart sensors that can help farmers detect disease, water stress, and other threats to crop health earlier. His work brings together biosensing, 3D printing, precision agriculture, and artificial intelligence.

The fellowship is the latest of two major honors for Frank. This summer, he also earned first place in the Ph.D. category of the 2026 Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Award from . His award-winning research uses 3D-printed sensors to detect a damaging disease in peanut plants.

Congratulations, Frank, on these well-deserved recognitions!

08/24/2026

We enjoyed a fantastic turnout and great weather for Friday’s Virginia Cotton Growers Field Day and the Tidewater AREC Peanut Tour! The rain held off until late afternoon, giving producers, researchers, and partners plenty of time for in‑field updates and conversations.

Presentations covered soybean updates, insect and disease management in cotton and peanuts, w**d management, and more. We appreciate all of our specialists and students who shared insights on cotton and peanut production across the region, along with our colleagues from University of Georgia and N.C. State University.

This field day is made possible through the collective work of our faculty, staff, and students, along with the Virginia Cotton Growers Association, whose funding support sustains the event each year. We extend our sincere appreciation to our guests, industry sponsors, our Virginia Tech colleagues from across the state for joining us — and to Congresswoman Jen Kiggans for spending part of the day with our growers and research teams. Thank you all!

08/22/2026