Monterey County CE hires entomologist for lettuce aphid control research

Hugh Smith has joined UC Cooperative Extension, Monterey County to coordinate research and outreach on the UC SAREP project “Enhancing Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS) for lettuce on the Central Coast of California.”

Hugh Smith

Smith will work with farm advisor Bill Chaney on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9-funded project to boost biological control for lettuce pests. The project was approved in May 2004, and will receive $196,000 for two years (see "SAREP receives US-EPA grant for biological control of lettuce pests," Sustainable Agriculture Summer 2004, Vol. 16, No. 1-2). Project leaders plan to seek additional funding from US-EPA to extend the work an additional two years.

Smith received a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Florida working on crop diversity and whitefly management. After graduation, he did research on insectary crops on organic and conventional farms before working on integrated pest management in the Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii. Most recently Smith taught and worked with farmers in Guatemala. He co-authored a review article entitled “Intercropping and Pest Management” for American Entomologist in 2000, and has published several papers related to crop diversity and pest management. His research interests include enhancing natural biological control in conventional and organic farming systems, and participatory methods of farmer training.

In Salinas, Smith will be focusing on the role of different hoverfly larvae in controlling the lettuce aphid, one of the crop’s most important pests. He will be cooperating with key organic growers, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, and the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association. The project will be a combination of field research and outreach activities. Smith can be reached at (831) 759-7364 or by email at hasmith@ucdavis.edu.