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ARS Research Featured in Pest Management Science Journal
By Sharon Durham
May 15, 2003
Agricultural Research Service pest management research is the focus of the June issue of the scientific journal Pest Management Science. More than 200 ARS researchers from 16 states published papers in the special issue, on subjects ranging from biological control of pests to tracking agricultural chemical runoff in surface water.
ARS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency, employs more than 2,000 scientists at approximately 100 research locations throughout the United States. ARS also conducts research in a number of foreign countries including Mexico, Australia, Argentina, France and China. Many of the agency's national programs are related to pest management, food safety and environmental quality.
A snapshot of ARS pest management research is provided in the special issue. One of the topics, areawide management programs, deals with controlling pests while reducing chemicals.
In one paper appearing in the journal, Carrol O. Calkins of ARS' Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory in Wapato, Wash., and Robert J. Faust, ARS national program leader for field and horticultural crop entomology, discuss the areawide pest management program to control codling moth (Cydia pomonella), the key pest of apples and pears in the western United States. The paper illustrates how moth populations are controlled by using their own hormones to disrupt mating.
Other scientific papers cover important topics such as food quality and safety; basic biology and genetics of pests; and biocontrol of pest insects, mites, diseases and weeds. Targeted research for managing termites, invasive species, veterinary pests and aquatic weeds, along with finding methyl bromide alternatives, is also examined.
Pest Management Science is a peer-reviewed journal that provides an international forum for papers covering all aspects of research and development, application, use and environmental impact of products designed for pest control and crop protection. The journal is available online.
