Chris Brown (left), president of Lancaster Farms Wholesale Nursery, speaks with Hong (right) at a nursery in Suffolk, Va.

Every year, nurseries and greenhouses around the country pump water from reservoirs and retention ponds to irrigate their plants. This helps the green industry deal with water shortages and the costs associated with using other sources of water, but it also has a major drawback: waterborne pathogens.

“We want growers to recycle water, but we don’t want them to recycle pathogens,” said Chuanxue Hong, plant pathology specialist for Extension and professor of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science at Virginia Tech.

For more than a decade, Hong has been leading an irrigation pathogen and water quality project at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Virginia Beach, Va., that has helped the horticulture and floriculture industry become more sustainable and better compete in the global market.

The team has already helped growers in Virginia improve irrigation practices and save money. Team members are also creating an online knowledge center to share research results and recommendations for best management practices with the green industry across the country. Read the full university spotlight on impact.