ANTHONY SHELTON
The focus of our research program is to develop sound pest management strategies for vegetables, with spin-offs for others crops. This broad focus allows the opportunity to work simultaneously in basic and applied areas. The program works with presently available strategies and helps incorporate them into pest management programs, and develops new strategies for the future. Examples of presently available strategies range from: developing sampling and thresholds for specific crops; studying mechanisms of host plant resistance and working with companies to develop resistant germplasm; enhancing biological control through conservation practices, evaluating presently registered insecticides and those under development and determining the status of insecticide resistance; studying the movement of insects within and between crops in the agroecosystem. Examples of developing new strategies are: using Bt transgenic broccoli plants to devise resistance management strategies for transgenic crops; enhancing control of pest populations through natural enemies; developing trap cropping strategies; working with natural and engineered insect pathogens for control of vegetable pests; delivering information through the WWW. International activities primarily focus in Central America, Mexico, Indonesia and China.