Mark Abney, an assistant professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, received $248,411 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess integrated pest management techniques for peanuts.
Valid economic thresholds are not available for many of the most common pest species found in the crop, so growers must make insect management decisions based on limited or outdated information.
Abney’s research will develop monitoring protocols to determine pest densities in the field. This data will help researchers develop an economic injury level, which indicates levels of pest infestation at which losses equal the cost of control.
