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As a federal research facility the
USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in
Sidney, MT is charged with addressing issues of not only regional
importance, but those that also have national impact. At NPARL that
means landmark research into ecological and integrated pest management
techniques for stemming the stranglehold of exotic invasive weeds on the
American landscape and pocketbook.
Invasive Weeds:
It is estimated that invasive species cost
American taxpayers at least $137 billion per year, or approximately $500
for every individual in the country.
 These costs are predicted to rise
over the next 10 years as more invasive species enter the country.
Agricultural, urban/suburban, and natural areas (e.g. National Parks)
are all impacted. At NPARL, the emphasis on biological control of weeds,
insects and pathogens offers an ecologically sound and cost-effective
long term management strategy for many of these invasive species.
NPARL researchers are in the forefront of
biological control research for leafy spurge, knapweeds, saltcedar and
hoary cress. The unit’s researchers are also initiating work on Canada
thistle, a particularly pernicious weed infesting 8 million crop and
rangeland acres in 41 states. Canada thistle was identified as the
highest priority weed target for a classical biological control
program in the eastern AND western U.S. in a 1999 USDA-AHPIS PPQ survey
of state cooperators.
Grasshoppers:
 But invasive weeds are not the only
nationwide pests plaguing producers, land managers and many of our
fragile, unique ecological treasures. Grasshoppers, too, pose an ongoing
threat to crops and pastures across the nation, and indeed around the
world, impacting food supplies for livestock and wildlife, as well as
humans. NPARL, again, is at the international forefront of research in
this area, hosting the largest contingent of grasshopper researchers in
the nation, all charged with developing ecologically sound methods for
managing the ancient pests.
Unlike past control efforts, which have
relied on reactive, large-scale, pesticide spraying programs (now
unfeasible for economic as well as environmental reasons), NPARL
researchers are studying ways to stem outbreaks BEFORE they occur.
Current research focuses on development of sustainable grasshopper
management systems that use management practices and ecological
processes in place of nonrenewable resources such as pesticides. Habitat
management, biological control and ecological studies are all part of
the NPARL grasshopper research effort, which has already demonstrated
that twice-over rotational grazing can reduce grasshopper populations by
70% compared to season long grazing. Researchers are also testing
promising pathogens for their potential as biocontrol agents, as well as
examining the insect’s dietary preferences during different life stages
which could ultimately lead to new cultural methods for curbing
population growth.
Sugar Beets:
 Other research at NPARL targets crops
threatened by particular diseases and/or pests. At the Sidney lab, the
nation’s sugar beet producers are getting research assistance for two
such nationwide threats. The first, Cercospora leaf spot, is one of the
most important diseases of sugar beets in the world. Severe disease
incidence results not only in lost yields and reduced sugar content, but
also the expensive application of pesticides. Current research efforts
are looking at biological control agents to stem the disease without
relying on pesticides, as well as developing new molecular methods for
rapidly detecting and identifying the disease in neighboring plants
which, while carriers, do not exhibit disease symptoms themselves. The
second threat being addressed is the sugar beet root maggot, considered
the most important insect pest of sugar beets in the U.S., affecting
production on more than 1,250,000 acres. Yield losses of 20-40% are
common where highly toxic insecticides are not used. NPARL researchers
are currently investigating the use of several disease-causing fungi as
microbial insecticides for controlling the pest and eliminating or
reducing the need for chemical insecticide control.
Other areas of national import being
investigated by NPARL scientists include:
Biological Control of Wheat Stem Sawfly
Diverse Irrigated and Dryland Cropping
Systems
Precision Agriculture
Soil Quality
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