Chase Stratton just started in the lab. He comes from Dr. Karen Kester’s lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he worked on the effects of planting designs of non-crop habitat on parasitoid impact. At UVM, Chase is interested in studying how to disrupt specialized insect-plant interactions (like the swede midge) within agroecosystems.
Welcome Chase!
Jedeliza Ferrater (Wagenigen and IRRI) just published her first paper in Arthropod-Plant Interactions!
The Brown Planthopper has been the focus of innumerable research projects focused on rice resistance and planthopper “adaptation”. Jedi’s article nicely provides an overview as why this interaction is likely to be more complex than we previously thought!
Way to go, Jedi!
Vic found that if the potato plant is grown under short-day photoperiods it may produce changes in the plant, which causes Colorado potato beetles to diapause. This paper is now available online at the link below. If you would like a copy, please email us.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/een.12066/abstract
Hannah just won a Mini-Grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research!
Our swede midge research and Rachel’s spotted wing drosophila work landed us a decent chunk of change.
· University of Vermont to increase the profitability of Brassica farmers by developing low-input management strategies to reduce Brassica losses to swede midge ($50,000).
· University of Vermont’s Department of Plant and Social Science to help blueberry and raspberry growers minimize the damage caused by the spotted wing drosophila ($12,296).
