Students tackle pesky plant problems at summer contests

Graduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences participated in two collegiate weed science contests among competitors from the United States and Canada. Members of Virginia Tech’s Weeds Team regularly participate in these annual contests, which test students’ knowledge of herbicide symptomology, weed identification, sprayer calibration, and field diagnosis of plant problems.

The coaches of the 2022 award-winning team were School of Plant and Environmental Sciences Professors Jacob Barney, Michael Flessner, and Shawn Askew.

According to Barney, the team started planning for the late summer contests in early May and scheduled two, four-hour practices each week. The coaches focus on specific events to teach the students, “but the breadth of material the students have to know is enormous,” he said. Barney said the contests not only test students’ knowledge, but also serve as opportunities for networking and exposing students to real-world challenges they might face in the field.

The Northeastern Weed Science Society's Collegiate Weed Contest was held in July at Syngenta Canada’s Honeywood research facility in Plattsville, Ontario. Seven universities, including Virginia Tech, participated. The students earned multiple honors as a team and for individual events. For more than a decade, the team has placed as the top graduate team in the competition.

“Our consistent top team and individual performances are testament to our outstanding students and their dedication to weed science," Barney said.

Virginia Tech’s results at the Northeastern Collegiate Weed Science Society Week Contest:

Team 1: Eli Russell, Matthew Spoth, John Peppers
Team 2: Vipin Kumar, Prashasti Agarwal, Tim Shively, Cynthia Sias
Individual: Navdeep Kumar

First place, graduate team: Eli Russell, John Peppers, Matthew Spoth
First place, graduate individual: Eli Russell
Second place, graduate individual: Matthew Spoth

First place, written calibration: Eli Russell
First place, herbicide identification: Vipin Kumar
First place, weed identification: Eli Russell
First place, team calibration: Eli Russell, John Peppers, Matthew Spoth

In August, the team participated in the Southern Weed Science Society Contest at Agricenter International in Memphis, Tennessee. Fourteen teams from across the U.S., including Virginia Tech, competed.

Team member Eli Russell received multiple prizes, including first place in weed identification.

“The contest is a lot of hard work, and many of us spend hours studying and preparing outside of our team study time,” Russell said. “Preparing for the contest is challenging and can be an overload of information, but learning this information makes us better weed scientists and helps us prepare for our future careers. While the contest is hard, it does allow us to showcase our knowledge to potential employers and meet our future colleagues.”

Virginia Tech’s results at the Southern Weed Science Society Contest:

Team 1: Eli Russell, Matthew Spoth, John Peppers, Daewon Koo
Team 2: Vipin Kumar, Prashasti Agarwal, Navdeep Kumar, Cynthia Sias

Second place, graduate team: Eli Russell, Matthew Spoth, John Peppers, and Daewon Koo
Second place, graduate individual: Eli Russell
Fourth place, graduate individual: Matthew Spoth
Fifth place, graduate individual: John Peppers
First place, weed identification: Eli Russell