U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Pest Management and Biocontrol Research: Maricopa, AZ
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Research Units
                        Main Page - ALARC
                                    Plant Physiology and Genetics Unit
                                    Water Management and Conservation Unit
                                    Western Regional Biomass Research Center
                    About UsSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




The sweetpotato whitefly (left) and Lygus bugs are major pest of cotton, vegetables and other crops in the southwestern USA. Researchers in Maricopa are developing ecologically based strategies to manage these important pests.
 The green lacewing (left) and the big-eyed bug prey on whiteflies and other pest insects. Research in Maricopa is focused on strategies for conserving these insects in cropping system so they can provide critical biological control services.
 The pink bollworm is a major pest of cotton globally and was a key pest of cotton in the western USA starting in the 1960s. In 2018 the USDA officially declared the eradication of this pest from the continental USA.  Eradication was a bi-national cooperative effort between cotton growers in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico, USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, and state universities and agencies.
 *Aspergillus flavus*and related fungi contaminate corn (left), cotton, peanuts, tree nuts and other crops grown in warm areas with toxic, carcinogenic fungal metabolites called aflatoxins. Aflatoxins in crops can be reduced by applying non-aflatoxin producing fungi to fields in the form of a grain substrate that is coated with spores of the biocontrol strain (right).


Research Projects
                            More... Improvement of the Aflatoxin Biocontrol Technology Based on Aspergillus flavus Population Biology, Genetics, and Crop Management Practices Sustainable Pest Management for Arid-Land Agroecosystems


**Other Research Units**Plant Physiology and Genetics Research UnitWater Management and Conservation Research Unit Mission Statement  **ALARC HIGHLIGHTS - 2022 Edition**


Pacific West Area   colin.brent@ars.usda.gov


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov