Leveraging IPM and Conservation-Agriculture Practices to Improve Control of Invertebrate Pests in Corn and Soybean Production

Insects and slug pests can occasionally challenge crops in no-till systems, but these conservation-based systems have great potential to harbor populations of natural enemies that can help with pest control. Unfortunately, standard preventative pest management programs in corn and soybeans limit the potential for natural enemies to contribute to pest control. This talk will explore data from Pennsylvania that has revealed that no-till, cover crops and integrated pest management (IPM) can combine to build natural enemies populations that can help protect crops from insect and slug pests.

About the speaker

John Tooker is a professor and extension specialist in the Department of Entomology at The Pennsylvania State University. His research group studies relationships among plants, invertebrate herbivores and natural enemies to understand factors that regulate populations of herbivorous insects and slugs. The long-term goal of his research is to exploit ecological interactions for sustainable insect pest management.

Cornell IPM Academic Seminars

This event is part of the Cornell Integrated Pest Management academic seminar series which is designed to increase awareness of new research and techniques that advance Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and its adoption in all types of pest management settings.