Pest Control

March 2, 2017

BUFFALO, NY - Biology Professor Robert J. Grebenok, PhD, is part of an interdisciplinary research team investigating ways to force herbivorous insects to choose weeds as food – rather than agriculturally important crop plants.

Supported by a recently awarded three-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Grebenok is exploring ways that plants can produce more of their natural defenses so they eventually have little dietary use to insects. The outcome could help maintain plant health and eliminate future pesticides.

To date, Grebenok’s plant research has generated more than $1.5 million in government support.