K-State achievements--2005 Agriculture

Kansas State University achievements

2005 Agriculture

* K-State entomologists brought home numerous awards from the national meeting of the Entomological Society of America Dec. 15-18 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Anna Iversen Getchell, a master's student from Manhattan, won the President's First Place Award for her presentation, "Effectiveness of a dry formulation of spinosad on commercial dog food and pelleted chicken feed to stored-grain insects." Getchell works with Bhadriraju Subramanyam, professor of grain science. Susan Romero, a doctoral student from Manhattan, won the President's Second Place Award for her poster, "Pattern of spatial heterogeneity and habitat abundance influence movement behavior of red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Romero works with James Campbell, adjunct associate professor of entomology, and James Nechols, professor of entomology. Troy Anderson, a doctoral student from Wichita, won the President's Second Place Award for his poster, "Atrazine induces oxidative stress and up-regulates hemoglobin gene expression in larvae of the aquatic midge Chironomus tentans (Diptera: Chironomidae)." Anderson works with Kun Yan Zhu, associate professor of entomology. Jayne Christen, a master's student from Tecumseh, Neb., and Sonny Ramaswamy, won the President's First Place Award for her presentation, "Role of symbiotic bacteria (Xenorhabdus sp.) in the infection process of Steinernema riobrave. Christen works with James Campbell, adjunct associate professor of entomology. Tony Grace, a doctoral student from India, won the President's Second Place Award for his presentation, "Population genetics and breeding structure of the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Grace works with Srini Kambhampati, professor of entomology, and Bhadriraju Subramanyam, professor of grain science. Grace also received the Lillian and Alex Feir Graduate Student Travel Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry or Molecular Biology from the Entomological Society of America. Dick Beeman, adjunct professor of entomology and insect geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, received the 2005 Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Toxicology from the Entomological Society of America, sponsored by Bayer CropScience of Germany. December 2005

* For the 11th year in a row, the K-State Crops Team placed first overall in the Central Region Collegiate Crops Contest. The competition included three parts: identification, the ability to identify 200 different plants or seeds of crops or weeds; grain grading, the evaluation of eight samples of seven different grain crops according to Federal Grain Inspection Service standards; and seed analysis, determining whether or not seed samples contained impurities and identifying each contaminant. Eighteen students from four universities and community colleges participated in the contest. The K-State team is coached by Gerry L. Posler, professor of agronomy. October 2005

*Tony Grace, graduate student in entomology, was awarded the C.C. Burkhardt Memorial Graduate Student Award for Best Paper at the Rocky Mountain Conference of Entomologists. Grace won the award for his presentation, "Indian Meal Moth Populations in Kansas, A Population Genetic Study Using Microsats." The award was presented at the conference, July 31-Aug. 4, in Colorado Springs, Colo. August 2005

* Two K-State students specializing in greenhouse management have been awarded Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarships for the 2005-06 academic year. Matt Novak, senior in horticulture, Modoc, will receive a $2,000 scholarship; Natalie Thomas, senior in horticulture, Riley, will receive a $3,000 scholarship. The scholarship foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued success of the commercial floriculture industry through encouraging creative young students to pursue careers in floriculture. June 2005

* The K-State Crops Team won the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Crops Contest April 15 in Norfolk, Neb. The team has won this title six times in the last seven years. This year, the team placed first in plant and seed identification and agronomic calculations and second in laboratory practical and agronomic quiz. April 2005

* In only their fifth year of competing, students on K-State's Landscape Contracting Team took ninth place at the National College Landscaping Competition during the 29th Annual Professional Landcare Network Student Career Days. About 850 college students from 54 colleges and universities competed in the event and attended the career days. The competition consists of 23 different events all related to landscape horticulture. The events vary from business management to wood construction and irrigation design. In addition to the team finish, 12 students also placed in individual or two-person team events. Greg Davis, associate professor of landscape horticulture, and Cathie Lavis, instructor of landscape horticulture at K-State, are co-advisers. April 2005

* Frank Arthur, adjunct professor of entomology at K-State, received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Integrated Pest Management at the 60th Annual Entomological Society of America-North Central Branch meeting, March 20-23, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. He was recognized for his contributions to developing innovative ways of controlling pest insects in stored commodities; he is considered to be a leading authority on the use of chemical and non-chemical tools for managing insect pests of stored products. April 2005

* K-State agronomy professor Dallas Peterson received the Outstanding Extension Award from the Weed Science Society of America. Peterson, who is a weed specialist with K-State Research and Extension, was honored at the organization's annual meeting Feb. 7 in Honolulu, Hawaii. A weed management Web site he developed provides growers and herbicide dealers access to information on weed identification, research summaries and related information. Peterson develops educational programs and conducts applied research on weed management in soybeans, small grains, alfalfa and specialty crops. He has coached the K-State weeds team to several high national finishes. March 2005

* K-State entomology professor Gerald Wilde was recognized for his efforts in grain sorghum research. Wilde received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the North American Grain Congress, Feb. 18-23, in Reno, Nev. He was nominated by K-State's entomology department and extension and industry personnel involved in sorghum production. The award is presented by the National Grain Sorghum Producers and the Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America to those who have made significant contributions to the development and improvement of the sorghum industry. The congress cited Wilde's research, which has impacted growers throughout the world, as well as his pioneering evaluations of greenbug resistance in sorghum and the impact of seed applied insecticides as early season management tools in many crops. March 2005

* Three K-State agriculture students won $1,500 scholarships from the National Cattlemen's Foundation and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Twenty students nationwide won the Beef Industry Scholarship, sponsored by the two organizations. No other school had three or more winners and only two institutions had more than one. K-State recipients are: Audrey Young, senior in agricultural communications and journalism, Erie; Kelsey Frasier, sophomore in agribusiness, Limon, Colo.; and Emilie Miller, junior in animal sciences and industry, Womelsdorf, Pa. To win the scholarships, students wrote 750-word essays describing an issue facing the beef industry and the solution to this problem. Applicants also submitted resumes and two letters of recommendation. The scholarship committee looked for students who were active at their school, in their community and in the beef industry. March 2005

K-State College of Agriculture