Extension Agent – Integrated Pest Management
Williamson and Milam Counties
Education:
BS – Texas A&M University, 2007 – Entomology and Agronomy
MS – Texas A&M University, 2012 (expected graduation) – Entomology
Experience:
2009 – present Extension Agent – IPM, Williamson and Milam Counties
Meetings and Publications:
28 local and regional meetings
Newsletters, Newspapers, Website and Blogs used to educate clientele about IPM
20+ educational meetings for youth
3 educational meetings with Master Gardener groups.
Collaborative Work:
Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Texas A&M University, Master Gardeners, local cotton gins, grain elevators and other agricultural businesses
Scholarly Presentations:
Ripple, J. 2008. Direct Effects of Cotton Aphids (Aphis gossypii) on Cotton Plants. Entomological Society of America. Reno, NV. Nov. 19, 2008.
Ripple, J., M. Eubanks, C.B. Zehnder and S.D. Frank. 2008. The Effect on Previous Cotton Aphid Feeding on Subsequent Beet Armyworm Herbivory on Cotton. Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America. Fort Worth, TX. Feb. 24, 2008.
Recent IPM Emphasis and Accomplishments:
The Williamson Milam IPM unit is diverse from several aspects. Williamson County has large urban communities which are a part of the Austin metropolitan area. The 2010 census showed over 422,000 people lived there. On the west, the county is rocky and hilly and on the east it is gently rolling black farmland. Milam County is more rural with just over 24,000 residents. The crop production is diverse as well. Corn, grain sorghum, cotton and wheat are the main crops. Ten-year averages of planted acres of these crops are: corn 135,880, grain sorghum 35,310, cotton 29,060 and wheat 23,830 (NAAS, 2011). The 10-year average net returns from these crops were: corn $30.2 million, grain sorghum $5.4 million, cotton $9.3 million and wheat $2.3 million.
Mr. Ripple works with growers on IPM and other crop production concerns and with urban citizens with their IPM related issues. He has worked with a number of growers to help them make improvements in managing aflatoxin in corn. In dry years, a significant part of the corn crop cannot be sold because of the presence of this fungal toxin. He has worked to educate growers and citizens of his county on the best management practices for insects diseases and weeds.
Scholarly Publications:
Ramirez, R., M. Eubanks, S. Frank, C. Zehnder and J. Ripple. 2009. Aphids as beneficial insects? Effects of aphid induced plant defenses and aphid natural enemies on other cotton pests. In Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf. S. Boyd, M. Huffman, D. Richter, and B. Robertson (eds.) Memphis, TN. pp. 747-753.
Ripple, J. 2010. Biological control of aflatoxin contamination of corn in Texas using Afla-Guard®, a commercial atoxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology. 32:407.