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Agricultural Research Center – Hays

Entomology - Hays, KS

Entomology - Hays, Kansas 

The entomology program at ARCH has a broad mandate to develop IPM strategies for rain-fed agriculture in the region. Integrated pest management means combining cultural, chemical and biological control tactics to achieve crop protection in the most cost-effective way possible. The goal is cost-effective reduction of crop losses to insects, and it is important to remember that this does not always require lethal control of insects. Regional crops have a generally low per-acre value relative to more intensive forms of agriculture and this presents a major challenge: pest control tactics must be cheap to implement or they will yield no economic benefit for the farmer. Under these conditions, sound pest management strategies are more often preventative than curative in nature. The key to IPM is a sound understanding of the biology and ecology of the pest, and the physical and environmental factors affecting its behavior and population dynamics. Consequently, our research projects range from very basic biological studies of insect behavior under controlled conditions, all the way to field trials designed to evaluate crop protection tactics at a commercial farm scale. Our program also supplies general entomology extension support for Northwestern and Central Kansas.

Current Projects

  • Biological control of the newly-invasive sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, on sorghum.

  • Evaluation of sorghum lines expressing resistance to sugarcane aphid.

  • Assessment of non-target effects of insecticides used to control sugarcane aphid.

  • A comparison of Hippodamia convergens populations for resistance to key insecticide groups.

  • Field trials to assess the value of insecticidal seed treatments in commercial sunflower.

Please refer to my departmental web page for a recent list: Entomology Website.

Contact Information

 

JP Michaud

JP Michaud
Entomologist
KSU Ag Research Center
1232 240th Avenue
Hays, Kansas 67601-9228
Phone: 785-625-3425 x217
Fax: 785-623-4369
Email: jpmi@ksu.edu
Website: Research Program