While natural insecticides made up of disease-causing soil microbes have been successfully tested against pest grasshoppers in the lab and greenhouse, their success has not always translated to the great outdoors. Why not? Sidney Agricultural Research Service scientist Stefan Jaronski will answer that question during his special BrownBagger presentation this Thursday, Jan. 30, at the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney.
The talk is open to the public and runs from noon to 1 pm. The lab is located at 1500 N. Central Avenue in Sidney, MT.
Dr. Jaronski’s presentation – “Searching for a grasshopper pathogen: It’s the ecology, dummy!” – will explore the impacts of the ecological/outdoor settings of the target grasshoppers on the potential success of proposed pathogens. While scientists screen likely biocontrol agents for their “kill” effectiveness in lab and greenhouse tests, and industry scientists study how readily each strain can be mass produced, how safe it is for people and animals, and how long it can be “stored” on the shelf, all that research can be for nothing if the pathogen’s performance is negatively affected by its new surroundings in the field.
“That’s the rest of the story,” Dr. Jaronski notes, adding, ecological factors that can have significant impacts on a microbial agent’s success in the field include temperature, humidity, sunshine (UV), even the type of plant, behavior of the insect and the timing and placement of the agent.
Dr. Jaronski will discuss ways to include environmental tolerances in the evaluation process of developing microbial agents. His unique insights are based on both his experience in industry and as an insect pathologist with NPARL. Dr. Jaronski has been developing insect attacking fungi as biological control agents of grasshoppers and other insect pests since he joined the Sidney ARS lab in 2000. Before that, he spent 17 years in the ag biotech industry commercializing bacteria and fungi to control insects. Because of his extensive background, Dr. Jaronski is frequently called on to speak at national and international gatherings, seminars and trainings on developing microbial controls for insect pests.
Please join us for this very interesting presentation. For more information, contact Beth Redlin at 406-433-9427.
NPARL’s 2014 BrownBagger series is held in the lab’s Tech Transfer Room, typically on Fridays, from noon to 1 p.m., although Dr. Jaronski’s talk was moved up to Thursday, Jan. 30, because of another conflict. Additional speakers in this series will be announced prior to their presentations.
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