Megan E. Luke

How did you become interested in this field of study?
After completing my undergraduate degree in agriculture science from Chico State, I chose to continue in agriculture and focus my master’s program in Integrated Pest Management and Agroecology. I chose this because of my interest in entomology, data science and whole-systems approaches to pest management.

What is the title of the ARI project and what faculty are you working with?
“Expanded Analysis of a Novel Trapping Method for Walnut Husk Fly in California Walnut Orchards” with Dr. Elizabeth “Betsy” Boyd, professor in the College of Agriculture, Chico State University.

Briefly describe your project and why it is important to California agriculture or natural resources.
California produces all the nation’s walnuts, and its annual value to growers fluctuates between $0.9 billion to $1.6 billion. Larvae of walnut husk flies infest black walnuts and damage the nut. While the pest has been in California for 100 years, we are lacking basic information regarding its distribution, no new methods for managing the pest have been developed, and economic thresholds need to be established. In this project, we implemented and evaluated intensive monitoring of walnut husk fly in walnut orchards for the purpose of improving management techniques of this pest, using novel trap designs and placements in orchards.

Why are you interested in this project?
I enjoy working in the field and having the opportunity to approach a long-standing issue in agriculture with new technology and ideas. I like the complexity of the data and the ability to try something new in the way we manage a common pest.

Describe your role in this ARI project.
My role has been to provide support to the PI in all stages of the project, including writing the grant, setting up the experiment in the field, collecting the data and entering and analyzing it. This was a multiple-year study, and we were able to make year-to-year comparisons on population size and densities of the walnut husk flies and evaluate trap density and new trap designs. I have assisted in presenting preliminary findings and will be a primary author in forthcoming publications.

What do you hope to learn, or have you learned, through your involvement?
I have learned about the role of grants in research, the importance of experimental design, the ins and outs of collecting “good” data, how to manage data and version control, time management, proper scientific writing methodologies and how to research appropriate analysis techniques. I have always liked chemistry, biology and solving problems. I have also enjoyed realizing how much cuttingedge technologies are being used in agriculture, especially geospatial analyses as a management tool.

What do you want to do after graduation, and how will working on this ARI project help you to achieve that goal?
I plan to pursue a Ph.D. and work toward establishing a research career. I was able to help write several grant applications and progress reports, so I feel I have gotten a good idea of the demands of research. Working on this ARI project provided an opportunity to collect data worthy of publication and allowed me to see how to develop and implement an applied research project with real-world applications. All this has provided me with the confidence to apply to a doctoral program and the credentials to qualify for one.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us regarding your background and interests?
I am a single mother of three daughters.