Fruit Fly Control in Mangoes on the Pacific Rim: Research Collaborations, Technology Transfer, and Zoom

Matthew Siderhurst
Professor of Chemistry
Eastern Mennonite University

Tephritid fruit flies are among the most damaging horticultural pests worldwide, damaging fruits and vegetables through the tropics and subtropics.  Areawide pest management, in which neighboring farmers coordinate their control practices, has the potential to increase horticultural production and profits for small farmers in developing countries.  In this talk I’ll be reflecting on my sabbatical work with a project focused on improving fruit fly control in mangoes funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.  I’ll discuss my research in Australia and Hawaii and how this relates to other parts of the project in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Dr. Matthew Siderhurst is a professor of chemistry at Eastern Mennonite University. He completed undergraduate studies at Goshen College and did his PhD work at Colorado State University before completing a postdoctoral fellowship with the USDA in Hilo, Hawaii. His research interests are diverse including recent projects on insect chemical ecology, coffee quality, spruce volatiles (odors), and insect tracking. Matt’s interests outside of chemistry and biology include Ultimate Frisbee, board games, science fiction, and foreign TV crime shows, with the pandemic threatening to make him into an ultrarunner.