Education
- B.S., Shippensburg University, 1959
- M.S., Bucknell University, 1963
- Ph.D., Penn State University, 1967
Research
Ecology, population growth, and management of insect pests of forage crops; integrated pest management systems; biological control; insect stress on plant physiology and growth.
Research Activities & Interests
Research focuses on the feeding strategy of the clover root curculio, Sitona hispidulus, in the alfalfa rhizosphere, the role of the biological and physical environments in curculio population dynamics, the potential for biological control, and the effect of the clover root curculio on premature stand decline. My current research examines the direct impact of the clover root curculio on alfalfa growth, nitrogen fixation and stand persistence, management by shorter alfalfa/corn rotations and alfalfa/grass mixtures, biological control of clover root curculio, the colonization and distribution of potato leafhopper in alfalfa fields, economic injury levels for potato leafhopper on new seedings, and the role of glandular-haired alfalfa in potato leafhopper management.
Relevant Publicatons
Tan, Y. and A. A. Hower. 1991. Development of feeding behavior of clover root curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae on alfalfa. Environ. Entomol. 204:1013-1018.
Flinn, P. W., R. A. J. Taylor, and A. A. Hower. 1986. Predictive model for the population dynamics of potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), on alfalfa. Environ. Entomol. 15:898-904.
Hower, A. A., M. A. Quinn, S. D. Alexander, and K. T. Leath. 1995. Productivity and persistance of alfalfa in response to clover root curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) injury in Pennsylvania. J. Econ. Entomol. 88(5):1433-1440.
