2012 Recipient of the Arthur T. Potts Award
Dr Robert Mangan
| Dr Mangan came to the Rio Grande Valley in1989 to take up an appointment as entomologist/research leader of the Crop Quality and Fruit Research Unit at the USDA-ARS Kika de la Garza Subtropical research center in Weslaco. His research since then has been concentrated on tephritid fruit flies, dealing with avoiding introduction and establishment of exotic fruit flies in the USA. Significant accomplishments include development of baits and insecticide systems, including the only organic system available. The systems have been registered both in the US and overseas. He has also developed models for calculating quarantine security, host status and pesticide efficiency to minimize introduction risk, and has led the team that developed hot forced air quarantine treatments for citrus and mangoes – these treatments are internationally recognized for export of these fruits from fruit fly infested countries.
More recently, Dr Mangan has become involved in research on the Asian citrus psyllid, and is the lead PI on a Specialty Crop Grant to study this pest and disease vector. He has also assumed administrative duties as a national program leader, and Location Leader and subsequently Center director of the Weslaco ARS facility.
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