Two graduate students in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture have published new research on two aspects of management for one of the region’s most damaging agricultural pests.
Two graduate students in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture have published new research on two aspects of management for one of the region’s most damaging agricultural pests.
Wheat stem sawflies cost agricultural producers millions of dollars in losses each year, according to the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. Surveys conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service found that nearly a quarter of respondents in Montana had lost up to 10% of their yield to the pest, and total losses statewide for 2024 were estimated at $66 million.
Doctoral student Jackson Strand and master’s student Lochlin Ermatinger in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences worked alongside MSU professor David Weaver to explore two aspects of sawfly management. Their novel approaches help better understand the pest’s impact and vulnerabilities.
Read more at: Montana State University
Montana State University researchers in the College of Agriculture observe a wheat stem sample at a study plot near Amsterdam, Montana. MSU photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez (Photo Credit: MSU photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez)
