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Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center

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Latest AREC updates

  • Article Item
    Princess Anne Garden Club Donated $19,750 To Hampton Roads AREC
    Princess Anne Garden Club Donated $19,750 To Hampton Roads AREC , article

    The Princess Anne Garden Club in Virginia Beach presented Dr. Jeffrey Derr (Hampton Roads AREC Director) and Dr. Laurie Fox (Hampton Roads AREC Demonstration Garden Coordinator) a check for $19,750 on March 1st, 2023. This grant will be used for improvements that will enhance accessibility and educational engagement in the gardens. The first improvements will be the roads, the parking area off Diamond Springs Road, and new signs for the Perennial Theme Gardens. The next phase of improvements will include new pathway decking at the gazebo, a pump for the water garden, new garden entrance signs and a replacement sign for the one between the theme gardens and the annual trial gardens. Plans are to create a scale base map of the gardens and to create a garden master plan. We thank the Princess Anne Garden Club for this generous grant. The Princess Anne Garden Club is the oldest garden club in Virginia Beach and was founded February 6, 1932.

    Date: 03/07/2023
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    Pollinator Garden at Hampton Road AREC
    Pollinator Garden at Hampton Road AREC , redirect

    Pollinator Garden at Hampton Road AREC, 1444 Diamond Springs Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23455

    Date: 08/12/2022
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    woman driving tractor at SPAREC
    2022 Virginia Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Summit , redirect

    You are INVITED! Join us April 12-13, 2022 in Richmond, VA

    Date: 02/25/2022

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Welcome to the Hampton Roads AREC, located in Virginia Beach, Va.

The Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, formerly known as the Virginia Truck Experiment Station (1907-1967), Virginia Truck and Ornamentals Research Station (1967-1987), and Hampton Roads Agricultural Experiment Station (1987-1992), conducts research and extension programs that benefit the horticulture industry in Virginia.

Originally its focus was on vegetable production, but with the decline of the commercial vegetable industry, research activities were redirected in 1967 towards the nursery and landscape industries. The urbanization of the Hampton Roads area generated economic opportunities for the Tidewater agricultural community to shift their efforts to nursery production. Current research areas include: nursery production, landscape maintenance, turfgrass, small fruit production, and urban stormwater management

Specific research projects include: plant nutrition, irrigation , disease, insect, and weed control, and variety evaluations. With the assistance of Master gardeners, the station maintains annual bedding plant trials, perennial display gardens, a woody arboretum, and buffer and rain gardens.

DISCIPLINES

  • Nursery crops
  • Pest management
  • Small fruit production
  • Stormwater management
  • Turfgrass maintenance

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

  • Anaerobic soil disinfestation
  • Digital image analysis
  • Solar-heated greenhouse
  • Stormwater modeling
  • Use of drones

FACILITIES

  • 7 laboratories
  • 7 greenhouses
  • 3 classrooms
  • Container and field research areas

INDUSTRY PARTNERS

  • Nursery industry
  • Lawn care
  • Landscape industry
  • Strawberry producers
  • City governments

AREC Fact Sheet 

Fair Virginia Beach, VA: Fair. 73.0 F (22.8 C) 3:51 pm EDT
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