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Ben Bradford

he/him

Researcher II - Groves Lab

840 Russell Labs
1630 Linden Dr
Madison, WI 53706

Affiliations:

AgWeather sites:

  • AgWeather – Weather, Insolation, Evapotranspiration API and website.
  • VDIFN – The Vegetable Disease and Insect Forecasting Network provides a map-based interface for viewing weather and disease and insect risk models for Wisconsin and the upper Midwest.
  • WISP – Wisconsin Irrigation Scheduling Program for managing soil water balance and tracking irrigation needs.

Shiny apps:

Github: Personal – UW Entomology

Interests: R, GIS, Ruby on Rails, data science, data visualization, web design, agriculture, water quality, environment

Education:
M.S. Entomology – University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2016
B.S. Biology – University of California, Davis, 2008

About me:
Ben completed his M.S. degree in the Groves Lab and is continuing on in the lab working on a variety of projects, including the upkeep of this website. During his time as a graduate student, he explored the problem of groundwater contamination by neonicotinoid insecticides, specifically thiamethoxam, by surveying high-capacity irrigation wells in the Central Sands vegetable growing region of Wisconsin. In addition to describing the spatial extent and magnitude of this contamination, his thesis explored of the relationship between neonicotinoid contamination and landscape composition in the vicinity of sampled wells. Prior to moving to Wisconsin to pursue a degree in Entomology, Ben worked with the USDA-ARS Aquatic and Invasive Weeds Research Unit in Davis and Albany, CA.

Research interests:
In the Groves Lab our research focuses primarily on applied aspects of pest management in commercial vegetable crop production in Wisconsin. We also study related questions surrounding the environmental fate of insecticides and issues of surface and groundwater quality and relationships to land use and agricultural intensity. In partnership with the Vegetable Pathology lab of Amanda Gevens, we have also developed several map-based web tools for predicting disease and insect risk using daily gridded weather data (VDIFN and AgWeather). I am also particularly interested in creating interactive web interfaces for connecting participants in citizen science projects with the data they help collect, such as with the WiBee pollinator survey project, and the Water Action Volunteers stream monitoring program.

Personal interests:
Cooking, baking, woodworking, gardening, cycling, hiking, canoeing, camping

View my profile on Google Scholar

2022

  • Clements, J., Barbour, J., Haylett, M., Nelson, B., Bradford, B., & Walsh, D. (2022). Examining Historical Rates of Leafcutting Bee Brood Cell Pathogens, Parasitoids, and Predators to Establish Baseline Infectivity Rates for Alfalfa Seed Growers. Journal of Economic Entomology, 115(4), 1170–1176. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac082
  • Clements, J., Haylett, M., Nelson, B., Shumate, S., Young, N., Bradford, B., Walsh, D., & Lamour, K. (2022). Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Reveals Unique Trends in Pathogen and Parasitoid Infestations of Alfalfa Leafcutting Brood Cells. Journal of Insect Science, 22(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieac042
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2022). Evaluation of Several Seed Treatment and In-Furrow Programs for First-Generation Colorado Potato Beetle Management on Potato in Wisconsin, 2021. Arthropod Management Tests, 47(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsac030
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2022). Evaluation of Foliar Treatment Programs for First-Generation Colorado Potato Beetle Management on Potato in Wisconsin, 2021. Arthropod Management Tests, 47(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsac031
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2022). Evaluation of At-Plant Banded Applications of Verimark Versus Foliar Applications of Exirel for European Corn Borer Control on Green Bean in Wisconsin, 2021. Arthropod Management Tests, 47(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsac065

2021

  • Clements, J., Bradford, B. Z., Lipke, M., Jansky, S., Olson, J., & Groves, R. L. (2021). Difference in Foliar Fatty Acid Composition in Potato Cultivars over a Growing Season May Influence the Host Location Preference of Leptinotarsa decemlineata. American Journal of Potato Research.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-021-09857-w
  • Iglesias, L., Groves, R.L., Bradford, B.Z., Harding, R.S. and Nault, B.A. 2020. Evaluating combinations of bioinsecticides and adjuvants for managing Thrips tabaci (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in onion production systems Crop Prot. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105527.
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2021). Evaluation of an Experimental Foliar Product for Control of Lepidopteran Pests on Cabbage in Wisconsin, 2020. Arthropod Management Tests, 46(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsab101
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2021). Evaluation of Foliar Applications of Senstar Versus Commercial Standards for the Control of Colonizing Aphids on Potato in Wisconsin, 2020. Arthropod Management Tests, 46(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsab100
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2021). Evaluation of Two Experimental Bacillus thuringiensis tenebrionis Formulations for Efficacy Against Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae on Potato in Wisconsin, 2020. Arthropod Management Tests, 46(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsab099
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2021). Evaluation of an Experimental Systemic Insecticide Applied as Either an In-Furrow or Seed Treatment for the Control of Colorado Potato Beetle on Potato in Wisconsin, 2020. Arthropod Management Tests, 46(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsab098
  • Bradford, B. Z., Chapman, S. A., & Groves, R. L. (2021). Evaluation of an Experimental Foliar Product for First-Generation Colorado Potato Beetle Management on Potato in Wisconsin , 2020. Arthropod Management Tests, 46(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsab097
  • Bradford, B., Lubinski, C., Chapman, S., Crockford, A., Spacek, C., Spurgeon, J., & Groves, R. (2021). Evaluation of Two Oil Products for PVY Management in Seed Potato Production in Wisconsin, 2020. Arthropod Management Tests, 46(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsab096

2020

  • Lagos-Kutz, D., Voegtlin, D.J., Onstad, D., Hogg, D., Ragsdale, D., Tilmon, K., Hodgson, E. Difonzo, C., Groves, R.L., JLaforest, J., Seiter, N.J., Duerr, E., Bradford, B., Hartman, G.L. 2020. The Soybean Aphid Suction Trap Network: Sampling the Aerobiological “Soup”, American Entomologist, 66(1) https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmaa009.
  • Clements J, Garcia M, Bradford B, Crubaugh L, Piper S, Duerr E, … Groves RL (2020). Genetic Variation Among Geographically Disparate Isolates of Aster Yellows Phytoplasma in the Contiguous United States. Journal of Economic Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz356
  • Kamiyama, M. T., Bradford, B. Z., Groves, R. L., & Guédot, C. (2020). Degree day models to forecast the seasonal phenology of Drosophila suzukii in tart cherry orchards in the Midwest U.S. PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0227726. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227726

2019

  • Bradford BZ, Chapman SA, Crubaugh LK, & Groves RL (2019). Evaluation of Foliar Insecticides for the Control of European Corn Borer on Snap Bean, 2018. Arthropod Management Tests, 44(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsz046
  • Bradford BZ, Chapman SA, Crubaugh LK, & Groves RL (2019). Evaluation of Registered and Experimental Foliar Insecticides for the Control of Potato Aphid in Potato, 2018. Arthropod Management Tests, 44(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsz045
  • Bradford BZ, Chapman SA, Crubaugh LK, & Groves RL (2019). Full-Season Insecticide Management Programs for the Control of Colorado Potato Beetle in Commercial Potato Production, 2018. Arthropod Management Tests, 44(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsz051
  • Clements J, Olson JM, Bradford B, & Groves RL (2019). Changes in emergence phenology, fatty acid composition, and xenobiotic‐metabolizing enzyme expression is associated with increased insecticide resistance in the Colorado potato beetle. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, (July), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21630
  • Bradford BZ, Chapman SA, Crubaugh LK, & Groves RL (2019). Evaluation of Foliar Insecticides for the Control of Onion Thrips in Dry-Bulb Onion, 2018. Arthropod Management Tests, 44(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsz005

2018

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