Current Research Interests

My research program involves both applied and basic aspects of vegetable and sweet potato insect pest management. In recent years most of my effort has been devoted to the soil insect pests of sweet potatoes (sweetpotato weevil, white grubs, banded cucumber beetles, and whitefringed beetles). This research has included 1) host plant resistance, 2) evaluation of insecticides for control of insect pests in seed beds, production fields, and storage facilities, 3) evaluation and development of sweetpotato weevil and Phyllophaga pheromones for the study of insect seasonal activity patterns and the potential of these sampling tools to predict damage, 4) biological studies of soil insect pests, and 5) evaluation of sampling methods, quantification of spatial dispersion patterns, and development of treatment thresholds of pests.

Courses

Fundamentals of Horticultural Entomology (Ent. 4012)

Classification of Immature Forms of Insects (Ent 7005)

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Publications

Selected Publications:

Diagne, A., R.N.Story, and A.M. Hammond. 2006. Partial Life Cycle of Phyllophaga ephilida Say (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in South Louisiana. J. Entomol. Sci. 41(4):409-411.

Diagne, A., R.N.Story, and A.M. Hammond. 2006. Adult Phyllophaga ephilida Say Host Plant Feeding Preference. Florida Entomologist. 83(3):391-395.

Story, R.N., Abner Hammond, Deana Sexson, Jeff Wyman, Carlos Granadino, Susan Rice Mahr, Catherine Eastman, and William Chaney. 2005. Root Crops, pp 108-122. In: Vegetable Insect Management. Rick Foster and Brian R. Flood, Eds. Willoughby, Ohio. Meister Media Worldwide. 264 pp.

Jackson, D. Michael, K.A. Sorenson, C.E. Sorenson, and R.N. Story. 2004. Monitoring cucumber beetles in sweetpotato and cucurbits with kairomone baited traps. J. Econ. Ent. 97:

Mao, L., L.E. Jett, R.N. Story, A.M. Hammond, J.K. Peterson, and D.R. LaBonte. 2004. Influence of drought stress on sweet potato resistance to sweetpotato weevil and storage root chemistry. Florida Entomologist 87(3):261-267.

LaBonte, D.R., J.M. Cannon, C.A. Clark, A.Q. Villordon, P.W. Wilson, A.M. Hammond, and R.N. Story. 2003. Bienville Sweetpotato. Hort. Science 38(3):473-474.

Mao, L., R.N. Story, A.M. Hammond, J.K. Peterson, and D.R. LaBonte. 2003. Effects of previous insect feeding injury to sweet potato on resistance to sweetpotato weevil and storage root chemistry. J. Entomol. Sci. 38(1):72-83.

Mao, L., R.N. Story, A.M. Hammond and D.R. LaBonte. 2001. Effect of Sweetpotato phenotype, storage time and production site on the feeding and ovipostion behavior of the sweetpotato weevil. Fla. Entomol. 84(2):259-264.

Mao, L., R.N. Story, A.M. Hammond, J.K. Peterson, and D.R. LaBonte. 2001. Effect of nitrogen on the resistance of sweetpotato to the sweetpotato weevil. J. Econ. Entomol. 94(5):1285-1291.

Ameen, A. O. and R. N. Story. 1997. Fecundity and longevity of the yellowmargined leaf beetle, (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on crucifers. J. Agr. Entomol. 14(2):157-162.

Ameen, A. O. and R. N. Story. 1997. Feeding preferences of larval and adult Microthecaochroloma, (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) for crucifer foliage. J. Agr. Entomol. (14):363-368.

Ameen, A.O. and R.N. Story. 1997. Biology of the yellowmargined leaf bettle on crucifers. J. Entomol. Sci. (32):478-486.

Johnson, R. R., L. L. Black, H. A. Hobbs, R. Valverde, R. Story and W. P. Bond. 1995. Association of Frankliniella fusca and three winter weeds with tomato spotted wilt virus in Louisiana. Plant Dis. 76:572-579.

Hobbs, H. A., L. L. Black, R. N. Story, R. A. Valverde, W. P. Bond, J. M. Gatti, D. O. Schaeffer and R. R. Johnson. 1993. Transmission of TSWV from pepper and three composite weed hosts by F. fusca. Plant Dis. 77:797-799.

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