The Sweetpotato Whitefly (left) and Lygus bugs are major pests of cotton, vegetables and other crops in the southwestern USA. Researchers in Maricopa are developing ecologically based systems for management of these important pests

Cotton is a major field crop in the western USA.  Research in Maricopa, Arizona is focused on pest control solutions, plant breeding, and water conservation.

Furrow irrigation has been a long-standing practice in crop production in the western US. Research in Maricopa is exploring different approaches such as subsurface drip and overhead sprinkler systems to improve irrigation efficiency.

In a field of guayule in Maricopa, Arizona, scientists monitor soil-water depletion and crop evapotranspiration. To improve irrigation scheduling efficiency, the group is developing remote-sensing tools and evapotranspiration models to estimate real-time crop water use.

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. 

In Maricopa, Arizona, several different platforms are being used for remote sensing of plant conditions in the field. This field scanner is the largest one in the world and is helping scientists accelerate crop improvement.

Cotton is a major field crop in the western USA.  Research in Maricopa, Arizona is focused on pest control solutions, plant breeding, and water conservation.

Guayule, a native desert-adapted shrub, is being explored to provide a domestic source of rubber and latex. Research is focused on developing crop production practices and improving yields.

In Maricopa, Arizona, several different platforms are being used for remote sensing of plant conditions in the field. High clearance tractors provide flexible proximal scanning capacity and help Maricopa scientists accelerate crop improvement.

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).