“Invasive sorghum aphid: A decade of research on deciphering plant resistance mechanisms and novel approaches in breeding for sorghum resistance to aphids” with Drs. Somashekhar Punnuri, Karen Harris-Shultz, Joseph Knoll, and Xinzhi Ni.

Sorghum is an important crop in the United States, grown for grain, forage and bioenergy purposes. However, its production is facing several challenges due to abiotic and biotic factors, with aphids emerging as a significant pest in last decade. Once considered a minor pest, sorghum aphids have become a major threat to sorghum cultivation due to susceptible varieties and insufficient pest management strategies. In this episode, Dr. Somashekhar Punnuri, an associate professor from Fort Valley State University; Drs. Karen Harris-Shultz and Joesph Knoll, research geneticists with USDA ARS; and Dr. Xinzhi Ni, a research entomologist from USDA ARS, share their insights on current research efforts and new methods to combat sorghum aphids.

Tune in to learn more about:

·         What characteristics sorghum aphids have

·         How sorghum aphids reproduce

·         What resistance mechanisms sorghum has

·         What the current efforts are in breeding aphid resistant sorghum varieties

·         What the challenges are in aphid management in sorghum

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode’s paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21301

This paper is always freely available.

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If you would like to reach out to Som, you can contact him here: [email protected] https://ag.fvsu.edu/members/profile/view/63

If you would like to reach out to Karen, you can contact her here: [email protected] https://www.ars.usda.gov/people-locations/person?person-id=43959

If you would like to reach out to Joe, you can contact him here: [email protected]https://www.ars.usda.gov/people-locations/person?person-id=48564

If you would like to reach out to Xinzhi, you can contact him here: [email protected] https://www.ars.usda.gov/people-locations/person?person-id=35259

If you would like to reach out to Sarah Chu from our Student Spotlight, you can find her here: [email protected] X: https://x.com/weedysarahchu

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7bDF51FF70-9397-EF11-8A6A-000D3A350361%7d 

Transcripts: Coming soon

Sorghum Checkoff: https://www.sorghumcheckoff.com/our-farmers/insects-weeds-diseases/insect-control/sugarcane-aphid/

“Biological and genetic features of introduced aphid populations in agroecosystems” published in Current Opinion in Insect Science: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2018.01.004  

Sorghum aphid reporting tool: https://www.myfields.info/

Thank you to our volunteer Om Prakash Ghimire for regular help with the shownotes and other assets. Thank you to Cole Shalk from 12twelve Media for the Audio Processing on today's episode.

Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.