Rekha Bhandari
I am a Ph.D. student in Dr. Greg Loeb’s lab in Cornell AgriTech, Geneva. I am fascinated by research on monitoring and managing insects in agroecosystem by utilizing existing IPM tools and by developing innovative IPM strategies. Specifically, I am driven towards developing management tactics by understanding insect behavior, insect ecology, and chemical ecology. My Ph.D. research focuses on assessing effective timing for insecticide application to manage grape sour rot and minimize the risk of insecticide resistance, developing effective monitoring strategies for disease-associated insects (especially Drosophila fruit flies), and understanding insect vector dynamics in the sour rot disease etiology. I strive to contribute to outreach and extension by providing new information about insect pests to growers in an engaging way through educational videos, newsletter articles, updated websites, and hands-on activities
Lidia Komondy
My research program focuses on understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of onion thrips dispersal in onion agroecosystems and the epidemiology of Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV), a viruses transmitted by onion thrips primarily to onion crops. My projects focus on using precision agricultural tools such as GIS, statistical sampling models, and machine learning algorithims to advanced our knowledge and predict pest outbreaks to mitigate the spread of insect-transmitted viruses.
Michael Mueller
Primarily, the basic research questions I am interested in exploring can be summarized in a few simple questions: what makes organisms behave the way they do? What cues or information make an organism behave in a particular way? How can we use these findings to benefit society? Currently I am studying the ways plants integrate the chemical information of their neighbors, and how this exchange impacts herbivory. Previously, I had been working on the application of entomopathogenic (beneficial) nematodes and examined the potential for a beneficial nematode aggregation pheromone. Leveraging this experience, for my EOA I am collaborating with Dr. Amara Dunn in updating the beneficial nematode section of the New York State Integrated Pest Management biocontrol database. The focus here is on presenting clear, understandable information about these biocontrol agents and how they can be utilized to assist growers.
Morgan Swoboda
I am interested in how sod producers can use beneficial fungi to protect their sod against root feeding herbivores. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have the ability to kill insect pests or suppress their feeding, and have a greater potential for providing long-term pest control throughout the production, harvest, and installation of sod under many different soil conditions. My current research is focused on identifying potential EPF that already inhabit soils of New York State and establishing successful seed treatments of EPF for use in sod production.