Rate My Professor Mark Reiter

Reiter's research program investigates economical and sustainable soil quality and fertility practices for Virginia's vegetable, grain, and oilseed crops, including barley, cotton, field corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, sweet corn, snap beans, and tomatoes. Key areas encompass conservation tillage systems, cover crop integration and nutrient cycling, innovative fertilizer sources and application methods such as poultry litter and ash, groundwater nutrient monitoring, nutrient use efficiency for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur, and best management practices to reduce nutrient and sediment losses, with a focus on Chesapeake Bay watershed issues. He leads efforts in manure-to-energy conversion and trials of innovative crops like edamame, dry beans, field peas, and new potato varieties. Reiter has produced 65 refereed publications and two book chapters, including 'A meta-analysis of global cropland soil carbon changes due to cover cropping' (Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2020), 'An evaluation of carbon indicators of soil health in long-term agricultural experiments' (Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2022), 'Chapter 7: Cash crop selection and rotation' in Conservation Tillage Systems in the Southeast (2020), and 'Zero-tillage cultivation of maize' in Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Maize (2017). In 2023, he received the Andy Swiger Land-Grant Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. His extension activities support farmers, government agencies, industry partners, and Master Gardeners through publications, workshops, and programs on soil health and nutrient management.