Abstract
I am a Masters student working with Dr. Daniel Peck in the Soil Insect and Turfgrass Entomology Laboratory. My research is on biological control of white grubs such as European chafer (EC), Japanese beetle (JB), Oriental beetle (OB), and Asiatic garden beetle (AGB). These species are the most important pests of turfgrass on golf courses, parks, and home lands in the Northeast United States. I am focusing on identifying interactions between two neonicotinoid insecticides with three different groups of entomopathogens: bacteria, fungi, and nematodes for a curative control of these insect pests. My goal through this research is to offer a biologically-based alternative to the curative control of white grubs in turfgrass systems. This new alternative of control will reduce our dependency on chemical insecticides and may be used as a model in other agricultural systems.
