Entomology and Plant Pathology

Dr. Gary Lentz, Associate Professor

Research

Cotton and soybean insects: Pest managment and chemical control.

Cotton Insect Management Systems

The primary objective of this project is to develop economical and environmentally sustainable insect management systems for cotton. The twofold focus of the research is to evaluate new technologies and chemistries for efficacy against cotton pests and determine the impact of these on components of the cotton ecosystem. Secondly, we seek to develop economic thresholds of major pest species on new cultivars.

Specific objectives are:

To determine the effect of tillage systems on pest biologies.

To determine the amount of fruit damage caused by selected pests and the response of plants to varying levels of pest infestation.

To determine economic thresholds for the cotton aphid.

To evaluate new insecticides and pest control technologies for West Tennessee crop production systems.

Soybean Insect Management for Emerging Agricultural Technologies

The objective of this project is to determine the effect of production systems with transgenic and other herbicide-resistant soybeans on insect pests and natural enemies. This research utilizes numerous sampling techniques to determine the impact of these new cultivars on insect pests and the beneficial organisms which aid in their control and also monitors the growth and development of the crop for its impact on pest biology. As transgenic and herbicide tolerant soybeans are more widely planted across the U.S., their impact on pest management components must continually be monitored to prevent ecosystem imbalances which release existing or new pests.

Read more about Dr. Lentz's research (USDA research reports) on the CRIS database at http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris/. Just choose CRIS Search and then enter Lentz, G. L. in the box marked Investigator.

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