Grad student, weed scientist featured in Press Herald
The Portland Press Herald published a feature article on University of Maine graduate student Sonja Birthisel as part of its “Meet” series. Birthisel, who is pursuing a Ph.D. ecology and environmental sciences student, will be co-teaching an upcoming class at MOFGA on ways to integrate beneficial insects for natural pest control, according to the article. Birthisel will discuss the role predatory ground beetles can play in keeping down weeds, the article states. Birthisel describes Carabid beetles as “the dominant insect seed predator.” She said they like to eat seeds that are present on the surface, or that drop right off weeds, but they won’t burrow for the seeds you plant. About 18 months ago, Birthisel received a grant from the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions on a research project to help farmers combat weeds without pesticides through methods like mulching or tilling or crop rotations within a season, the article states. “I was making a digital tool to help farmers learn about and engage with weeds,” she said. The tool, WEEDucator, is still evolving, Press Herald reported.