Khot selected to lead AgWeatherNet program

PULLMAN – Washington State University professor Lav Khot has been named interim director of AgWeatherNet.

Khot takes over as director for Dave Brown, who stepped down.

"We want to make sure this high-quality data is collected and distributed to grower stakeholders so they can make informed decisions that benefit their operations and the state of Washington," Khot said.

Khot will serve an interim term of two years and is an associate professor in biological systems engineering.

The weather data will also help AgWeatherNet and other programs in developing and delivery of need-driven decision support tools, he said.

"Lav is a fantastic scientist and knows the importance of weather data for Washington farmers," Dean Andre-Denis Wright said. "He will be a great leader to work with industry..."

Khot's research and extension program focuses on crop monitoring and management technologies through in-field crop, environmental sensing and automation to help farmers with site-specific and management concerns.

"Crops face a wide variety of weather-induced stressors, including spring frost, summer heat and more," he said. "We have been exploring use of localized weather data to develop new tools to help growers."

AgWeatherNet includes nearly 400 solar-powered weather stations across Washington, including one in each Plaza and Fairfield, southeast of Cheney.

Nearby, there are also AgWeatherNet stations in Davenport, Harrington, Lamont, Reardan, St. John and Teske.

"We're rapidly expanding the network with the addition of new stations to not only monitor open-field but also the in-field weather data," Khot said. "That gives us a better understanding of localized weather and microclimate variations."

That data includes air and soil temperature, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction and solar radiation.