This is the fourth short news article written by students, during the professional development class of Spring 2025, about each other's research.
Nina Devine
Student Spotlight: Nina Devine
By Mia
The autumn air is crisp, and Pennsylvania homes are filled with the scent of pumpkin pie, roasted butternut squash, and fried zucchini. From carving pumpkins to cooking seasonal dishes, gourds are a tradition, but have you ever considered the production of these crops or the pests that impact them?
Pennsylvania is among the top states for squash production in the U.S., generating $19 million in revenue in 2023. However, climate change and squash pests such as aphids, cucumber beetles, and squash bugs pose significant threats to harvest yields. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns can lead to drought conditions, making squash crops even more vulnerable to pest damage. Nina Devine, a PhD student in the Kersch-Becker Lab at Penn State, hopes to squash these challenges. Through her research, she aims to better understand plant-insect interactions and develop strategies to help Pennsylvania farmers protect their crops in drought conditions.
"This research is vitally important to support our Pennsylvania growers," Devine explains. "By identifying pest and drought-resistant varieties, we can protect our environment and also protect growers' income."
Each year, the Mid-Atlantic Growers Association publishes a guide for Pennsylvania farmers, recommending squash varieties for different regions and providing information on common diseases for each variety. However, this guide lacks crucial details on pests and impacts of climate-change-induced drought. Most farmers rely on neonicotinoid seed treatments for pest control, which are effective for protecting seedlings and managing early-season pests. However, as plants mature, farmers often turn to spraying insecticides, which can be costly and harmful to pollinators. Additionally, drought conditions put further stress on crops, potentially reduce yields, and alter plant-insect dynamics.
Devine's research takes a comprehensive and applied approach. She is screening twelve different cultivars across three cucurbit species to identify varieties that are both pest-resistant and drought-tolerant. By manipulating water stress in the field, she aims to determine which cultivars can maintain high yields while assessing insect damage on these plants. In the greenhouse, Devine will conduct bioassays with squash bugs, aphids, and cucumber beetles to understand which squash varieties are more resistant to insect damage.
"Experiments with multiple species are critical because they more accurately represent what's actually happening in the field," says Devine.
Beyond pest and drought resistance, Devine is also studying pollinator communities that visit cucurbit flowers. Since squash plants require multiple rounds of pollination to successfully fruit, understanding how drought affects pollination rates and bee visitation is essential for maintaining crop productivity. Ultimately, she will publish her findings in an extension publication, providing farmers with better guidance on pest management and pollinator communities.
As pests and climate-change-induced drought continue to threaten agricultural production and pollinators, research like Devine's is critical for developing sustainable solutions. Her work has the potential to improve how farmers approach pest management and climate resilience, ensuring that future autumn harvests remain abundant. After all, what would fall be without pumpkin pie?
Nina Devine is a PhD student in the Department of Entomology at Penn State, in Dr Mônica Kersch-Becker's research group. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Margarita López-Uribe and Dr. Luis Duque, and is supported by funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
