Russ Groves and Shawn Steffan feature in latest issue of CALS Grow Magazine
The Fall 2022 issue of Grow Magazine, published by the UW College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is out and features two articles highlighting recent work by Russ Groves and Shawn Steffan.
Fall 2022 CALS Research Roundup: Watch the short film SymBeeOsis
In spring 2021, associate professor of entomology Shawn Steffan and members of his lab hosted film company Day’s Edge Productions. The crew shot extensive footage of the lab’s bee-microbe projects, including installed nests and other locations in the UW Arboretum and Allen Centennial Garden. The final production, a short film entitled SymBeeOsis, was released earlier this year. It highlights the key role that microbes play in the lives of bees and offers insights into why these crucial pollinators are in decline. The film also features Steffan’s collaborators at other universities. Source: Grow Magazine.
Eco-Friendly Pest Control: Using RNAi technology to control Colorado potato beetle
For Russ Groves, research on insecticide resistance genes in the Colorado potato beetle has led to partnerships to develop more targeted and sustainable bug-neutralizing options. Written by Nicole Miller.
Wisconsin has a long history of vegetable production. It’s a leading producer of the nation’s processing vegetables, such as snap beans, sweet corn, carrots, and potatoes. As a professor and extension specialist in the Department of Entomology, it’s part of Russ Groves’ job to protect these vegetable crops from insect pests — and that includes safeguarding the state’s potato crop from the voracious Colorado potato beetle (CPB).
The beetle is one of the most harmful pests of potato, capable of munching so many leaves that it reduces tuber yields, so growers turn to insecticide sprays to keep the bugs at bay. Groves notes that some of the state’s surface and groundwater reflect an unfortunate legacy of long-term pesticide use in select areas with high agricultural intensity. That’s a big motivator behind his efforts to develop more environmentally sustainable insect pest control options for growers.
In recent years, Groves has been working with biotech industry partners to develop and fine-tune a new, more eco-friendly insecticide option involving RNA interference (RNAi) technology. The approach, which utilizes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to silence critical genes in the beetle, is much more targeted than traditional insecticides. Under Groves’ supervision, it’s being tested on Wisconsin fields this summer. He anticipates seeing the first RNAi-based insecticide on the market later this year.
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