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Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture
 
Thomas G. Shanower (Tom)

Agricultural Administrator

 

Thomas Shanower.Thomas Shanower

 

Agricultural Administrator

Phone: 785.776.2702
Fax: 785.776.2789
E-mail: tom.shanower@ars.usda.gov




Additional Pages: Research Projects,* Publications*

*Taken from the Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS) database.

 

 

EDUCATION

 
B.S. Biology 1979 Marietta College, Marietta, OH
M.S. Entomology 1982 University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL
Ph. D. Entomology 1989 University of California, Berkeley, CA



CURRENT RESEARCH

 

The focus of my research is biological control of selected agricultural insect pests in the northern Great Plains, particularly the wheat stem sawfly, a key pest of wheat in the region. This research program was established in 1998 with the specific goal of finding, identifying and importing safe, suitable and efficacious wheat stem sawfly natural enemies. Dr. Kim Hoelmer (USDA-ARS-BIIR, Newark, DE) and I collected the first exotic wheat stem sawfly parasitoid in 1999, during a joint collecting mission to China This parasitoid (Collyria sp. n.[Hym.: Ichneumonidae]) is currently undergoing evaluation for efficacy and suitability in quarantine at Montana State University. We have also begun investigating the distribution and impact of the wheat midge in Montana. This pest is newly reported in Montana, though has likely been present for some time. We have mapped the distribution of the midge and its parasitoid in northeastern Montana since 2000.

 

 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

 

Prior to joining the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in 1998, I worked for six years in the Crop Protection Division of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) located in India. The focus of my research in India was the management and applied ecology of key legume pests and their natural enemies. This included on-farm and on-station research to evaluate components of integrated pest management, population dynamics and multi-trophic level interaction studies, and development of pest management programs for pests of pigeonpea in south Asia and eastern/southern Africa. The primary focus was on pod feeding pests, particularly Helicoverpa armigera. In addition, I was involved in collaborative research and development activities with national programs in south Asia and eastern/southern Africa. Before joining the staff at ICRISAT, I spent two years as a postdoctoral entomologist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) biological control program in Bénin (West Africa). I investigated the effect of host plant on the biology and ecology of two maize (corn) stem borers. I also studied the impact of these stem borers on maize growth and yield, and the role of natural enemies, specifically an egg parasitoid, on stem borer population dynamics.
 

 

RELATED WEBPAGES

 

Pest Management Research Unit Projects

The Wheat Stem Sawfly - Article Featured in the Sidney Herald (PDF)

 

 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

  • Shanower, T.G., and Waters, D.K. 2006. A Survey of Five Stem-Feeding Insect Pests of Wheat in the Northern Great Plains. Journal of Entomological Science. 41(1):40-48.

  • Shanower, T.G.  2005. Occurrence of Sitodiplosis mosellana (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), and its parasitoid, Macroglenes penetrans (Hymenoptera: Platygasteridae), in northeastern Montana. Canadian Entomologist 137:753-755.  (Click to download in PDF format).

  • Romeis, J., Babendrier,D., Wackers, F.L., and Shanower, T.G. 2005. Habitat and plant specificity of Trichogramma egg parasitoids – underlying mechanisms and implications. Basic and Applied Ecology 6: 215-236.

  • Durairaj, C., Subaratnam, G.V., Singh, T.V.K., and Shanower, T.G. 2005. Helicoverpa in India: Spatial and temporal dynamics and management options. pp. 91-117 In: Heliothis/Helicoverpa Management: Emerging trends and strategies for future research (H.C. Sharma, ed.). Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India. pp. 469.

  • Shanower, T.G., and Hoelmer, K.A. 2004. Biological control of cereal stem sawflies (Hymenoptera: Cephidae): Past and future. Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology. 21(4): 197-221.

  • Hoelmer, K.A., and Shanower, T.G. 2004. Foreign exploration for natural enemies of cephid sawflies. Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology. 21(4): 223-238.

  • Shanower, T.G. 2004. Wheat stem sawflies: Cephus cinctus Norton, Cephus pygmaeus (L.) and Trachelus tabidus (F.) (Hymenoptera: Cephidae). pp. 2545-2548 In: Encyclopedia of Entomology, Vol. 3 (J.L. Capinera, ed.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.

  • Shanower, T.G. 2004. History of biological control against wheat stem sawflies (Hymenoptera: Cephidae). pp. 1090-1093 In: Encyclopedia of Entomology, Vol. 2 (J.L. Capinera, ed.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.

  • Shanower, T.G. 2004. Trichomes and insects. pp. 2332-2335 In: Encyclopedia of Entomology, Vol. 3 (J.L. Capinera, ed.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.

  • Chen, S., Hoelmer, K.A., Chen, H., Aiping, L., and Shanower, T.G. 2004. A review of wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) research in China. Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology. 21(4): 249-256.

  • Durairaj, C., Shanower, T.G., V.R. Bhagwat, M.I. Khan and D.A. Dodia. 2003. Relationship between Helicoverpa armigera Hubner and Maruca testulalis (Geyer) abundance, damage and yield loss in short duration pigeonpeas. Insect Science and Its Application 23(3): 251-258.

  • Berzonsky, W.A., Ding, H., Haley, S.D., Harris, M.O., Lamb, R.J., McKenzie, R.I.H., Ohm, H.W., Patterson, F.L., Peirs, F., Porter, D.R., Ratcliffe, R.H., and Shanower, T.G.  2003. Breeding wheat for resistance to insects. Plant Breeding Reviews. 22: 221-296.

  • Hartel, K.D., Frederick, B., and Shanower, T.G. 2003. Characterization of microsatellite loci in wheat stem sawfly Cephus cinctus and other related species. Molecular Ecology Notes 3(1): 85-87. 

  • Hartel, K.D., Frederick, B.A., and Shanower, T.G. Isolation and Characterization of Microsatellite Loci in Wheat Stem Sawfly Cephus Cinctus and Cross-Species Amplification in Related Species. Molecular Ecology Notes. 2003. V. 3(1). P. 85-87.

  • Romeis, J., Shanower, T.G. and Madhuri, K. 2000. Biology and field performance of Gryon clavigrallae (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), an egg parasitoid of Clavigralla spp. (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in India. Bulletin of Entomological Research 90: 253-263.

  • Yoshida, M. and Shanower, T.G. 2000. Helicoverpa armigera larval growth inhibition in artificial diet containing freeze-dried pigeonpea pod powder. Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology 17: 37-41.

  • Romeis, J., Shanower, T.G., and Zebitz, C.P.W. 1999. Trichogramma egg parasitism of Helicoverpa armigera on pigeonpea and sorghum in southern India. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 90: 69-81.

  • Romeis, J., Shanower, T.G., and Zebitz, C.P.W. 1999. Why Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) egg parasitoids of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) fail on chickpea. Bulletin of Entomological Research 89: 89-95.

  • Romeis, J., Shanower, T.G.,  and Peter, A.J. 1999. Trichomes on pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) and two wild Cajanus spp. Crop Science 39: 564-569.

  • Shanower, T.G., Romeis, J., and Minja, E.M. 1999. Insect pests of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) and their management. Annual Review of Entomology 44: 77‑96.

  • Minja, E.M., Shanower, T.G., Silim, S.N., Singh, L. 1999. Evaluation of Pigeonpea Pod Borer and Pod Fly Tolerant Lines at Kabete and Kiboko in Kenya. African Crop Science Journal. 7(1):71-79.

 

     
Last Modified: 10/15/2007