Micro-irrigation systems can deliver water and nutrient in precise amounts and at controlled frequencies directly to the plant’s root zone. With micro-irrigation systems an extensive network of pipe is used to distribute water to emitters that discharge it in droplets, small steams, or through mini-sprayers. The major cause of failure in micro-irrigation systems is emitter plugging. Emitter plugging can severely degrade irrigation system performance and application uniformity. The goal of this document is to provide information on common water quality problems that can lead to emitter clogging, and how these problems can be addressed through water treatment and system maintenance. This should help producers identify, prevent, diagnose, and address clogging problems in their micro-irrigation systems.

The use of drones can be a safe and productive addition to your farm. However, there are many considerations that must be taken into account before purchasing and using a drone. This introductory publication is not intended to be used as a comprehensive drone resource. Therefore, please contact AgrAbility Virginia at www.agrabilityvirginia.org for more information and suggestions on incorporating drones into your farm or ranch operations.

"The Agroclimate Viewer & Planner App: NDVI only is a free interactive web-based tool designed to help growers and researchers to monitor crop health in the fields. By leveraging Google Earth Engine (GEE), the application provides insights through satellite imagery. Users can draw field boundaries and generate NDVI visualizations to aid in informed agricultural decision-making.

The Agroclimate Viewer & Planner App is a free interactive web-based tool designed to help growers and other users monitor, forecast, and analyze agroclimatic conditions for their croplands. By leveraging Google Earth Engine (GEE), the application provides insights through satellite imagery, weather forecasts, soil data, and climate patterns. Users can draw field boundaries, select specific parameters, and generate visualizations to aid in informed agricultural decision-making.

Over past decades, there has been a steep emergence in the use of larger and heavier agricultural machinery including for tillage, planting, spraying, and harvesting. Although this is done to achieve higher productivity and efficiency, the unregulated traffic in the crop fields raise wheel loads to result in heavy soil compaction risks. Soil compaction is one of the major reasons for soil health degradation impacting physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil and eventually the crop productivity. We present the impact of soil compaction on crop yield and assess Controlled traffic farming (CTF) as a possible solution. Study results show that the soil compaction was higher for the track zone compared to the no-track zone for both the corn and soybean growing fields. Importantly, this impact was prominent in the root zone depth i.e., till and beyond the hard pan. In some cases, the compaction varied so prominently that it led to the formation of two hard pans. Evaluations for the CTF also showed a trend that the field treatments with no cover crop experienced the highest soil compactions whereas the treatments with cover crop experienced the least compaction in most cases. It was also evident that soil compaction led to reduced crop health which likely also impacts the crop yield.

This extension publication presents information on how out-of-play areas serve as pollinator-friendly habitats in golf courses. This project also introduces information on the remote sensing approach to monitor the plant health status of this out-of-play areas.

This extension publication presents information on the biology, phenology monitoring, and damage associated with the annual bluegrass weevil, a key pest of turfgrass under golf course conditions in Virginia. This publication also introduces information on the remote sensing approach to monitor this pest.

The publication delves into the critical aspects of potato cultivar selection for Eastern Virginia. It highlights the importance of choosing cultivars well-suited to the region's climate and growing conditions. Factors like temperature fluctuations, precipitation patterns, tuber yield and quality are considered when making these selections. The evaluation process encompasses parameters such as yield potential, vegetative characteristics, and quality attributes like Specific Gravity and chip color. Moreover, the publication explores the use of metrics like NDVI and SPAD for assessing plant health. Detailed results for specific cultivars, such as 'Atlantic' and 'Chieftain,' among others, are provided, emphasizing data-driven decisions for optimal potato production in Eastern Virginia.

Drone-based spectral imaging is a nondestructive approach for estimating corn grain yield efficiently prior to harvest. Such spatial estimations if done early in the season could help growers to identify lower performing areas of the field. This will guide them to adopt prompt, precise and cost-effective crop management operations (e.g., irrigation, fertilizer or fungicide applications) in the same season or before/during next cropping season. Pre-harvest yield estimates would help in better planning and allocation of harvest, storage, and sales resources for higher profitability and crop value. This article summarizes a recent exploration on drone-based multispectral imagery to estimate grain yield potential of corn.

The Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech organized the Mid-Atlantic Spray Drone workshop on July 23-24, 2024 in Painter, VA. The workshop highlighted benefits of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as aerial drones, emphasizing their role in crop protection and comparing efficacy and economics with traditional spraying methods. Over the two-day workshop, federal regulators, university researchers, industry personnel, and custom pesticide applicators (Figure 1) examined the current status of the technology, and debated drift issues, and management strategies. The workshop was attended by participants from Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York.