Elai Keren

RESEARCH OVERVIEW:

Joint Management of Wheat Stem Sawfly, Fusarium Crown Rot, and Weeds: Assessing the Ecological Basis of a Total Systems Approach to Pest Management Strategies.

The concentration of wheat production in the Northern Great Plains has resulted in the influx of specialized pest complexes threatening its economic and environmental sustainability.  Wheat stem sawfly, Fusarium crown rot, and grassy weeds form a multitrophic complex which is a major burden affecting wheat cropping systems and challenges the traditional chemically-centered single pest management paradigm.

We integrate field experiments conducted at production farms in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho with simulation models to determine how three easy to manage cropping-system variables (stand density, herbicide management approach, and crop variety) may be manipulated to develop holistic multi-pest management strategies and enhance crop yield.

Former PhD Student, graduated 2012

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Click on an image to view as a slideshow.