Extension News

Extension IPM Agents Honored at 2015 TPMA Annual Meeting

February 23, 2015 by Rob Williams

TPMA Chairman Mark Wright, left, and Award Winners Stephen Biles, center. and Rick Minzenmayer, right. Photo by Pat Porter — TPMA Board Chairman Mark Wright, left, and Award Winners Stephen Biles, center. and Rick Minzenmayer, right. Photo by Pat Porter

AUSTIN—Three Texas A&M AgriLife Extension personnel received honors at this year’s Texas Pest Management Association in Austin.

The awards were given to Extension Agent-IPM Stephen Biles, Extension Agent-IPM Danielle Sekula-Ortiz, and Extension Agent-IPM Rick Minzenmayer for their dedication and hard work throughout the year.

Biles received the 2014 Excellence in IPM Programming Award for seven or more years of service to the state’s integrated pest management program. According to the nomination letter, Biles serves as the Extension Agent-IPM for Calhoun and Refugio Counties. He has also served as the EA-IPM for Jones, Mitchell and Scurry Counties from 1994 to 2004.

Biles assumed his current responsibilities in the mid-Texas coastal region in 2004 and has worked to educate farmers about IPM technologies, and cooperated in numerous regional research and demonstration projects.

Danielle Sekula-Ortiz. Photo by Rod Santa Ana, Texas AgriLife Communications

Sekula-Ortiz received the 2014 TPMA Excellence in IPM Programming Award for 0-7 years. She began working as an Extension Agent – IPM for the Lower Rio Grande Valley region, which covers Cameron, Willacy and Hidalgo counties, in 2013. Before then, she worked as a Field Entomologist for Rio Queen Citrus.

“Danielle has worked hard to re-establish a viable IPM Program in the agricultural-rich Rio Grande Valley,” the nomination said. “Danielle has faced a host of pest challenges in Deep South Texas and has worked diligently with farmers to address pest problems”

Minzenmayer received the Outstanding Extension Agent –IPM Award for 2014 for his outstanding work serving the Runnels and Tom Green County areas for more than 30 years. During that time, he has spent countless hours working to educate farmers about the benefits of IPM.

“Rick has always been an outspoken advocate for Texas Pest Management Association, and the organization continues to appreciate his candid advice and dedication,” the nomination said. “His commitment to the Texas IPM Program continued during 2014 as he conducted and/or participated in numerous demonstration and research projects to advance the region’s agricultural industry.”

Extension, Research Entomology Receives Three USDA Grants For Integrated Pest Management

November 10, 2014 by Rob Williams

Sugarcane aphid nymphs and an adult on a grain sorghum leaf. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Dr. Pat Porter)

COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Research have received a total of $937,345 in grant monies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture for integrated pest management work, according to a recent USDA news release announcing the successful grant projects.

The agency awarded a total of $16 million in grants nationally to support research and Extension activities across the U.S. that address critical integrated pest management needs, according to the press release. The resources are meant to protect crops and livestock, ensure greater food security and effectively respond to other major societal challenges as stated in the release.

Of the four grants awarded, the Department of Entomology received three of the four which totaled more than $689,000.

late season leaf drop on crape myrtles, Longview, TX Photo by E. Vafaie — Late season leaf drop on crape myrtles showing Crape Myrtle Bark Scale in Longview, Texas. Photo by Erfan Vafaie

“Integrated pest management is a best-management strategy that utilizes a number of tactics to control pests in the most effective, economical, yet environmentally friendly, ways available,” said Dr. Charles Allen, a grant recipient and AgriLife Extension entomology program leader/associate department head and statewide integrated pest coordinator at San Angelo.

The Applied Research and Development Program grants and amounts for the Department of Entomology are:

An AgriLife Research grant for $250,000 to study the sugarcane aphid on grain sorghum. The project will include evaluating thresholds that guide insecticide use; determining principal natural enemies, their abundance and impact; screening reported resistance to pesticides; natural pest enemies; and communicating findings to growers and industry.
An AgriLife Extension grant for $244,478 to include determining population dynamics of early stage crape myrtle bark scale across multiple growing seasons; determining the efficacy of different management strategies for crape myrtle bark scale infestations in landscapes and nursery container production; evaluating the pest’s feeding preference on different crape myrtle species and cultivars; and promoting awareness and disseminating integrated pest management control strategies to help people manage the pest.
The Extension Implementation Program grant, an AgriLife Extension grant for $195,000, will provide funding for applied research and Extension programming to solve pest-related problems in agriculture, home/landscape, school and urban settings, with an emphasis on information sharing, project evaluations and collaborator education.

The fourth grant was awarded to Soil and Crop Sciences in the amount of $247,867 to include the development and delivery of a Palmer amaranth integrated management model; a decision-support tool to help growers, private industry and agency personnel, –adopt integrated pest management tactics for managing herbicide resistant Palmer amaranth.

Assistant Professor Michael Brewer was thankful for the sugarcane aphid grant and said that it will help him conduct research to find ways to manage and control the infestations of sugarcane aphids that are currently affecting sorghum.

“I greatly appreciated the sponsorship. We (entomologists and plant breeders, researchers and Extension specialists) will be able to work together to address sugarcane aphid on sorghum as a team,” Brewer said. “We will be able to work together to find the best insecticide use, biological control, and sorghum resistance to limit damage from this aphid.”

To view the USDA announcement and the list of funded grants, visit
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2014news/10233_ipm_grants.html.

For more information on specific grants, visit: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2014news/10_23_crop_pro_ps

Department, Extension Names Robert Puckett as Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist

August 21, 2014 by

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Department of Entomology and Texas AgriLife Extension would like to welcome Dr. Robert Puckett as its newest member.

Puckett will be starting his position as Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist on September 1,and will be co-located at the Rollins Urban and Structural Entomology facility where he will work with Dr. Edward Vargo, the next Endowed Chair in Urban and Structural Entomology.“We are very fortunate to be able to hire Dr. Robert Puckett as Extension Entomologist at College Station,” said Dr. Charles Allen, Extension Entomology Program Leader/Assoc. Dept. Head for Extension Programs.

Puckett will primarily be working with pest control professionals on urban pest issues. Dr. Puckett was hired in 2008 as an Assistant Research Scientist with the Center for Urban and Structural Entomology under the current Endowed Chair for Urban and Structural Entomology Dr. Roger Gold and was promoted to an Associate Research Scientist in 2012. While at the Center, he conducted research on the interactions of phorid flies and fire ants, the ecology, behavior and management of tawny crazy ants, and the ecology and behavior of Formosan Subterranean termites.

Puckett gained valuable experience as a graduate student by working as an Extension Assistant. . Puckett worked under Dr. Bart Drees and Dr. Marvin Harris monitoring treatment effects of the red imported fire ant control study, as well as conducting surveys for Texas Red Imported fire ant quarantine efforts.

Puckett has received and has been nominated for several awards and honors, including receiving the Entomological Society’s J.H. Comstock Graduate Student Award, and being nominated for the Jeffery P. LaFage Graduate Student Research Award. He currently serves as the chair of the Entomological Society of America’s Ethics and Rules Committee and as a reviewer of the Annual Student Research Award Competition Proposal for the Texas Academy of Science.

Puckett received his Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M University in 2008 and following his BS and MS degrees in Biology from Sam Houston State University. “Dr. Puckett has excellent people skills which along with his knowledge, technical skills and desire to serve the public in extension make him an ideal candidate for the position,” Allen said. “We are very proud to have Dr. Puckett join our group of extension professionals. In my opinion, our already outstanding program just got stronger.”

“I am thrilled to be joining Texas A&M AgriLife Extension,” Puckett said. “I cannot wait to begin working with such an extraordinary group of people.”