Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri), a member of the "pigweed" family, is one of the most troublesome weeds in many southern row crops. Seed can germinate all season and plants can grow to over 6 feet in height. Plants have either male flowers that shed pollen or female flowers that can produce up to 600,000 seed per plant. One Palmer amaranth per 30 foot of row can reduce cotton yield by 6 to 12%.

Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri), a member of the "pigweed" family, is one of the most troublesome weeds in many southern row crops. Seed can germinate all season and plants can grow to over 6 feet in height. Plants have either male flowers that shed pollen or female flowers that can produce up to 600,000 seed per plant. One Palmer amaranth per meter of row can reduce soybean yield 32%.

Selection of good quality seed is essential for Virginia growers. We often plant under less than ideal growing conditions in cold, wet soils. Seed need to be disease-free, physiologically young, handled gently and stored with care. Select disease-free seed lots. Commercial lots of seed must be inspected upon arrival by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Inspection Service. Avoid planting seed pieces with scab lesions as seed-borne scab can contaminate fields without a prior history of scab.

Asparagus, (Asparagus officinalis), is a hardy perennial vegetable belonging to the Lily Family. It is grown for its succulent early spring vegetative shoots that originate from an underground crown (Figure 1). Nutritionally, asparagus is almost 92 percent water, and it provides fairly high amounts of carbohydrates, vitamin A, riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, and phosphorus. A native of coastal Europe, asparagus has naturalized over much of the eastern United States. With the assistance of man and birds that have spread the seeds, asparagus can be found in gardens, old homesteads, fencerows, roadsides, and railroad right of ways across the state. It is well adapted to most of Virginia, preferring well-drained loam soils and easily tolerating winter cold and summer heat. Asparagus is long lived, and a well-managed planting can last 10 to 15 years. For those considering it as a potential crop, good planning and soil preparation are essential for long-term success.

Globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) is an herbaceous perennial that is grown for its tender, edible, immature flower buds. The globe artichoke should not be confused with Jerusalem artichoke, another member of the composite family native to North America, which is grown for its fleshy tubers. Globe artichoke plants can become large: four to five feet tall and wide, with long, heavily serrated silvery green leaves (Figure 1a).

Field heat removal from freshly harvested produce is critical for subsequent handling and storage. Heat removal should be done immediately after harvest to maximize storage potential of the produce. The longer heat removal is delayed, the shorter the shelf life. Force air cooling has been design to remove field heat to bring the produce temperature down to the storage temperature.

Acid soil limits crop yields on many Virginia farms. This soil acidity can be directly toxic to plants, but more often it reduces the plants' efficiency at nutrient utilization.

This guide lists vegetable varieties that are available and are adapted to the mid-Atlantic region, gives an overview of cultural practices, and list chemicals recommended to manage pests, diseases and weeds in vegetable crops. New varieties of vegetables are constantly being developed throughout the world. While all efforts are made to have comprehensive lists, not all varieties that are adapted will be listed.

Potatoes are a major food crop on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, with average annual cash receipts of $14 million (2011-13).

Proper soil fertility management ensures sufficient nutrients for maximum cotton production. Obtaining and maintaining appropriate soil nutrient concentrations is imperative, as fertilizer inputs are the largest component of production budgets for Virginia cotton farmers. At the same time, excessive nutrient application wastes money, wastes natural resources, and can negatively impact yields and environmental quality.

Recommendations for the use of agricultural chemicals are included in this publication as a convenience to the reader. The use of brand names and any mention or listing of commercial products or services in this publication does not imply endorsement by Virginia Tech nor discrimination against similar products or services not mentioned. Individuals who use agricultural chemicals are responsible for ensuring that the intended use complies with current regulations and conforms to the product label. Be sure to obtain information about usage regulations and examine a current product label before applying any chemical.

The primary considerations when selecting peanut varieties are yield, grade factors, disease, pests, and drought and heat response. A good practice is recording for each field the variety, yield, rainfall, and disease and insect incidence every year. This will allow producers to identify the most productive and less problematic fields, also the most productive varieties for each field.

In 2012, several partners came together for a unified mission, “to both educate and provide locally grown fresh produce” to citizens of the Eastern Shore of Virginia (Fig. 1). The best way to fight hunger and provide locally sourced fresh vegetables is to demonstrate proper production practices and teach citizens where they can find information that they need to be successful in their gardens.

The primary considerations when selecting peanut varieties are yield, grade factors, disease, pests, and drought and heat response. A good practice is recording for each field the variety, yield, rainfall, and disease and insect incidence every year. This will allow producers to identify the most productive and less problematic fields, also the most productive varieties for each field.

New varieties and strains of particular varieties of vegetables are constantly being developed throughout the world. Since it is impossible to list and describe all of them, only some of the better performing commercial types are listed in the specific crop section, either alphabetically or in order of relative maturity from early to late. These varieties are believed to be suitable for commercial production under most conditions.

Early summer often means locally heavy and sporadic rainfall as thunderstorms deliver intense rains, and 2015 appears to be no different with many areas in eastern Virginia receiving 3+ inches of rain in a few days (Figure 1). These storms also often coincide with the timing of sidedress nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) applications on corn. While some rainfall after sidedress is very beneficial to facilitate N movement into soil, heavy rain (2+ inches) often leaves us wondering how much, if any, of that recently-applied N remains and if additional N is needed.

The mature and dried stem, leaves, and chaff remaining after barley and wheat are harvested is known as straw. Many farmers around Virginia harvest straw by baling in small bales, large round bales, or large square bales that range in weight from 40 to 1,000 lbs. plus per bale.

The recent increase in fertilizer costs, especially nitrogen fertilizers, has resulted in technologies that may improve nitrogen use efficiencies in agronomic cropping systems. Many of these technologies are designed as fertilizer additives to increase fertilizer use efficiencies by increasing plant fertilizer uptake and crop yields. The resulting fertilizer formulations include some type of extra additive within the formulation or applied as a coating and are often referred to as “enhanced efficiency fertilizers” (EEFs).

This booklet contains arthropod pest management research conducted on vegetable crops in eastern Virginia in 2014. Research was conducted at several

This booklet contains arthropod pest management research conducted on vegetable crops in eastern Virginia in 2016. Research was conducted at several locations in Virginia including: 1) the Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC) near Painter, VA.