New grant to help carrot and wheat growers deter invisible pests
March 12, 2021
Entomologist Marisol Quintanilla will lead a team in unraveling the mysteries of a microscopic pest of carrots and wheat.
Elisabeth Darling, Sita Thapa and Marisol Quintanilla will be working with farmers, student researchers and MSU Extension educators this growing season. Photo from 2019 by Jordan Noble, Be Noble Photography.
Nematodes are microscopic organisms and can be significant pests of crops. While farmers can’t see this pest, the damage is readily visible. Two species of root-lesion nematodes,
Pratylenchus penetrans
and P. neglectus, are reducing carrot and wheat crop yields in many top producing states. In Michigan carrot fields,