Plant and Soil Sciences > Plant Health

Plant Health

The goal of the Plant Health program is to conduct research into methods of reducing crop losses from diseases while maintaining environmental stewardship and sustainability. All efforts are geared towards improving the productivity, profitability, and livelihoods of specialty crops growers and gardeners in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond.

Underserved and small-scale farmers and gardeners suffer huge pre-and post-harvest yield losses due to plant pathogens that thrive best in Virginia’s wet summers and year-round humidity. Many such growers do not have access to the same selection of management options as large-scale farms and will benefit from our work to increase eco-benign disease management options, including measures for biological control. The Plant Health program trains students and engages stakeholders towards a common goal of saving crop losses in an economically feasible and environmentally sustainable manner in an effort to secure food supplies amidst a rapidly increasing world population. The Plant Health program has so far produced results including the revitalization of chickpea production efforts through management of biotic and abiotic challenges, and the detection and characterization of emerging diseases on crops like hemp and ginger.