Jayesh Samtani

The mission of my research and extension program is to yield sustainable and economically viable solutions for berry production, and to recommend practices that improve agritourism experiences for growers and consumers. Specifically, my efforts focus on (i) biofumigation for soil disinfestation, (ii) cultivar evaluation, (iii) extending harvest season, and (iv) supplementary nutrient application.

Biofumigation for soil disinfestation. My research and extension efforts align well with USDA’s priority with Methyl Bromide Transition Program. Due to human health issues with existing and previously used fumigants, the EPA, USDA and state regulatory authorities place stringent regulations on their use. These regulations include completing an extensive fumigation management plan prior to application, notifying neighbors in advance of grower’s plan to fumigate, and leaving untreated buffer areas in grower fields. With increasing urbanization in the state of Virginia and in many other states of the U.S. and with challenges facing fumigation, I feel it is important for me to evaluate non-fumigant approaches for soil disinfestation. My program has documented baseline potential temperatures that can be achieved through soil solarization in Virginia’s climatic conditions (Samtani et al., 2017; Aljawasim et al., 2025). Soil solarization involves covering the planting beds with impermeable clear polyethylene mulch and utilizing the hot summer temperatures to heat the beds before planting. The soil is kept moist during the treatment period as water helps in the conduction of heat. This study provides future directions to my program for integrating soil solarization with other bio-amendments and herbicides which could offer viable solutions to growers who do not wish to fumigate or are wanting to disinfest buffer areas.

Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) is another treatment that has now recently gained interest in the U.S. It is currently practiced by some commercial growers in California and Florida and overseas in Japan and the Netherlands. The basic method involves the incorporation of a labile carbon (C) source such as rice bran to stimulate microbial growth and respiration, then covering the C source with a gas impermeable mulch to limit gas exchange, and then saturating the treated soil via irrigation. After three to five weeks of treatment, aerobic conditions are brought back into the soil beds when planting holes are made. Crops can be planted about 10 to 14 days after holes are made. My program has conducted several greenhouse studies evaluating several C sources for their potential use in ASD followed by a two-year field study at the Hampton Roads AREC to conclude that brewer’s spent grain could be used as a C source for ASD. Under greenhouse conditions, ASD treatments showed promise over non-treated control containers for the control of inoculated weeds and pathogens. Further, our research results showed that the addition of distiller’s yeast to C sources provided similar or better weed and Pythium pathogen control than ASD treatments with C sources alone (Liu et al., 2020). 

Cultivar evaluation. Attention to flavor, extended post-harvest life and tolerance to disease and rain events in the field are important fruit traits for the success of berry industry in Virginia. My research (Flanagan et al., 2020) and several outreach presentations on this topic have influenced grower adoption of new strawberry cultivars. We have identified ‘Camino Real’, ‘Flavorfest’, ‘Rocco’, ‘Ruby June’ and ‘Liz’ as being worthy of consideration for fruit production in Virginia. Most Virginia growers now grow 2 to 6 cultivars, reducing risks from relying on a single cultivar. Besides providing extension value to my program, the strawberry cultivar evaluation data we collected in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7 and 8 have supported the release of three strawberry cultivars, ‘Flavorfest’ released by USDA, Beltsville, MD, (Lewers et al., 2017) and ‘Liz’ and ‘Rocco’ released by North Carolina State University (Fernandez et al., 2020). My efforts have also contributed to a rise in commercial sales of new cultivars.  We anticipate that the inclusion of additional cultivars at the farm level will contribute positively to the $10 million Virginia strawberry industry. The cultivar data generated in Virginia also helps in the decision-making for growers in other states in the south-Atlantic and mid-South regions of the U.S. 

Harvest season extension. High tunnels are plastic-covered semi-permanent structures that can be used as a season extension tool for several horticultural crops, allowing the growers to gain early entry into the market. Consumers are excited about pick-your-own berries earlier in the season as compared to later. Virginia`s climate limits the open-field strawberry crop to one season which spans 4 to 6 weeks per year. The use of high tunnels could extend the harvest season earlier by another 4 weeks. In addition, the high tunnel can increase berry quality by keeping fruits sheltered from rain and plants from extreme cold temperatures during the winter season. No prior work has been done on strawberry cultivars that are suitable under high tunnels for Virginia. My program with support from Lassen Canyon Nursery has identified two cultivars, ‘Ruby June’, and ‘Sweet Ann’, suitable for high tunnel strawberry production. Alongside, we have also identified key challenges of growing strawberries in high tunnel (Das and Samtani, 2021).

Supplementary nutrition. Some Virginia berry growers have tried applications of supplementary foliar nutrients on berry plants and have reported increased fruit sweetness and firmness resulting from these foliar applications. There is limited research done in this area on berry crops. Our initial research has shown that for both strawberries and blackberries, there is no added advantage to applying supplementary nutrients over those plots that receive standard fertilizer recommendation doses. 

My research pursuits broadly overlap with my extension focus. Additionally, I provide information on small fruit production to home and community gardeners particularly those living in geographic areas identified as food deserts. I also maintain a small fruit extension resource page https://ext.vt.edu/small-fruit.html and can be found on facebook/X/LinkedIn @VTBerryBITES 

Extension publications

Please access the link below for the complete publication list:

Jayesh Samtani | VCE Publications | Virginia Tech

Select journal publications

Aljawasim B.D., C. Johnson, M. Manchester, and J.B. Samtani. 2025. Evaluating soil solarization and mustard seed meal as preplant treatments for weed control in annual hill plasticulture strawberry production. Weed Technology. 39:e7. doi:10.1017/wet.2024.90

Liu, D., J.B. Samtani, T. Taghavi, and B. Amyotte. 2024. Agronomic and Post-Harvest Performance of Strawberry Cultivars in High Tunnel and Open-Field Environment in Southeast Virginia. International Journal of Fruit Science, 24(1), 242–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2024.2384395

Liu, D. J. Samtani, C. Johnson, X. Zhang, D.M. Butler, and J. Derr. 2023. Brewer’s Spent Grain with Yeast Amendment Shows Potential for Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation of Weeds and Pythium irregulare. Agronomy, 13, 2081, https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13082081

Fields, J. S., J.S. Owen, A. Lamm, J. Altland, B. Jackson, L. Oki, J.B. Samtani, Y. Zheng and K.S. Criscione. 2023. Surveying North American Specialty Crop Growers’ Current Use of Soilless Substrates and Future Research and Education Needs. Agriculture, 13(9), 1727. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091727

Patel, H., T. Taghavi, and J.B. Samtani. 2023. Fruit Quality of Several Strawberry Cultivars during the Harvest Season under High Tunnel and Open Field Environments. Horticulturae 9, no. 10: 1084. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9101084 

Aljawasim, B. D., J.B. Samtani, and M. Rahman. 2023. New Insights in the Detection and Management of Anthracnose Diseases in Strawberries. Plants-Basel, 12(21), doi:10.3390/plants12213704.

Amyotte, B., and J. Samtani. 2023. New Directions for Strawberry Research in the 2020s. International Journal of Fruit Science, 23(1), 278-291. doi:10.1080/15538362.2023.2274894 

Cosseboom, S.D., A. Schoeneberg, J. D. Lea-Cox, J. Samtani, C.S. Johnson, and M. Hu. 2023. Impact of floating row cover and sensor placement on strawberry anthracnose and Botrytis fruit rot risk assessment.  Plant Pathology 72(4): 819-828.

Mbarushimana, J.C., D. J. Bosch, and J. B. Samtani. 2022. An Economic Comparison of High Tunnel and Open-Field Strawberry Production in Southeastern Virginia. Horticulturae 8.12: 1139.

McCullough, C., H. Grab, G. Angelella, S. Karpanty, J. Samtani, E. Olimpi, and M. O’Rourke 2022. Diverse landscapes but not wildflower plantings increase marketable crop yield. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 339:108120 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.108120

For full list of my publications please visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-UDf6WYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Book chapters

S.A. Fennimore, B.D. Hanson, L.M. Sosnoskie, J.B. Samtani, A. Datta, S.Z. Knezevic, M.C. Siemens. 2014. Automation Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Western Hemisphere. In Automation: the future of weed control in cropping systems. Ed. Stephen Young and Francis Pierce. Pp. 151-169.

Samtani, Jayesh B., Reza Rafie, Tony Wolf and Keith Yoder. 2015. "Fruits in the Home Garden", pp. 413-442. Master Gardener Handbook: A Guide to Gardening in Virginia. Publication no. 426-600.