Research directed to reduce crop losses and input costs for the sunflower producer in both the central and northern Plains by developing integrated management systems for the sunflower stem weevil, Cylindrocopturus adspersus, the sunflower moth, Homoeosoma electellum, the long-horned sunflower stem girdler, Dectes texanus, the banded sunflower moth, Cochylis hospes, and the red sunflower seed weevil, Smicronyx fulvus.  Investigations are conducted to develop an understanding of the biology, population dynamics, and plant-insect interactions of the pest species and their natural enemies.  Cooperation with project geneticist and botanist and scientists in Kansas and South Dakota in evaluating cultivated breeding lines and accessions for resistance to the major sunflower insect pests.

The goal of this project was to conduct a survey of the native sunflower, Helianthus annuus , in southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, the location where sunflower originated. We collected stalks harboring sunflower stem weevil to identify potentially new species of parasitoids attacking the larvae. An additional objective was to compare numbers of weevil larvae in stalks to locate Helianthus populations with lower insect densities as sources of germplasm that could potentially provide genes for resistance to attack or damage from this sunflower insect pest.   The photo with the cow, and Larry Charlet collecting wild sunflowers, was taken near Radium Springs, New Mexico.