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Zebelo Research, Important to Maryland Soybean Industry Dr. Simon Zebelo is new to the University! And he’s new to the Department of Natural Sciences. With expertise in agronomy, plant protection, and plant molecular biology, however, he’s definitely not new to the plight of soybean farmers. He is therefore working to develop environmentally sustainable, alternative management practices for the Kudzu bug in Maryland. Megacopta cribraria, commonly known as the Kudzu bug, is a new invasive insect pest that threatens the soybean industry in the southeastern U.S. This pest is rapidly expanding its range from the original point of introduction in Atlanta, Ga. in 2009. It has established in 12 states, including Maryland, where it has been detected in eight counties. Maryland is currently the northern limit for the bugs. Because the exotic invader has the potential to cause severe crop losses, the objectives of Zebelo’s research are to: 1) develop low-input alternative management tactics for kudzu bugs that will reduce pesticide use, reduce human health risks and minimize adverse non-target effects of the use of toxic insecticides, 2) develop a host plant odor-based trap monitoring system and design effective low-input pest management tactics such as trap crops for the control of Kudzu bugs in soybean fields. On another front, Dr. Zebelo and his teammates at UMES have developed a Pollinator Habitat Enhancement Plan (PHEP). The main objective of PHEP is to establish a flower-rich habitat within or around the UMES campus to increase the availability of pollen and nectar resources. Plant pollination by insects is one of the most well-known and important ecosystem services and is essential to both natural and agricultural landscapes. An estimated 85% of the world’s flowering plants depend on animals, mostly on insects, for pollination. Seventy percent of the world’s most commonly cultivated crops are reliant on animal pollinators. The great majority of pollinators are insects, including bees, wasps, flies,
beetles, butterflies, and moths. Unfortunately, the number of pollinators have been in decline over the past half-century because of disease, parasites, lack of floral resources, insecticides and other factors. Currently, UMES has more than two acres of land covered with pollinator enhancer flowering plants. The composition of these habitats depends on location and compatibility with adjacent cropping systems, but they often consist of fields planted with temporary flowering cover crops, field borders with perennial or annual flowering species, hedgerows comprising prolifically flowering shrubs, and grass buffer strips. While the primary objective of such measures is to increase the ecological fitness of pollinator populations, such strategies also provide secondary benefits to the farm and the surrounding landscape. Both projects are funded by the Maryland Soybean Board and the UMES School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences. The Maryland Soybean Board works to maximize the profitability of Maryland soybean producers by investing Maryland checkoff funds in research, promotion, and communication projects. INGENUITY MAGAZINE - Fall 2016 | 9