blackberry insect pest management by 1) conducting laboratory bioassays of natural products [e.g., pawpaw, button bush and Forsythia extracts] on major sweet corn and blackberry pests and 2) conducting laboratory bioassays of flowering plants, weeds, and synthetic herbivore induced plant protection odors which may attract or repel beneficial insects; c) Extension activities: I have contact with several local commercial sweet corn and blackberry growers in Franklin and Scott Counties and have six blackberry growers in Fayette, Franklin, Scott and Shelby Counties participating in on-farm research. Also, I participate in the monthly Kentucky State University Third Thursday Sustainable Agriculture Workshop and answer emails, letters, and telephone calls regarding insect identification, life history, damage and management; d) Teaching and Mentoring Students: I am a research mentor for BIO 401/BIO 410: Special Problems in Biology, a senior undergraduate research course at KSU; AFE 311, AFE 411, and AFE 401: upper classmen level work and research experience in the AFE Program; and ENV 501 and ENV 503: a graduate level course series teaching student team research, and ENV 600, ENV 601, and ENV 699 research, thesis, and capstone project, respectively. As part of the Capacity Building Grant entitled “Development of a Baccalaureate Degree Program in Agriculture, Food, and Environment Supporting Research Opportunities at Kentucky State University,” authored by Pomper, Bomford, Sedlacek, Antonious, Tope, Andries, and Tidwell for $600,000 from USDA-NIFA, I have participated in having the degree program and associated courses accepted by the KSU Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee and the full Faculty Senate. I have taught AFE 116 Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, AFE 117 Global Perspectives in Agriculture, Food, and Environment, AFE 318 Environmental Entomology, and AFE 311 Practicum I and AFE 411 Practicum II for the new B.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment degree at KSU. Since 2008 I have mentored 16 undergraduate students in the BIO 401/410 and AFE 311/411/401 series and 12 who were undergraduate laboratory research assistants. Currently I am mentoring 19 graduate students in the ENV 501/ENV 503 student team research classes. I am advising and mentoring six MES students in their ENV 600 and 601 thesis research projects. I guest lecture in BIO 495 Special Topics in Biology-Understanding Biotechnology. Since 2015 I have mentored three high school students in the KSU Student Apprenticeship Program. Several of my students have won state and national awards for presentations concerning their research projects.
Kentucky Horticulture Council. Developing a Trapping System to Manage Spotted Wing Drosophila for Organic Growers of Primocane Fruiting Blackberries and Raspberries. Kirk Pomper, John Sedlacek, Sheri Crabtree, and Jeremiah Lowe for $25,000. 2014.
A Capacity Building Grant entitled “Development of a Baccalaureate Degree Program in Agriculture, Food, and Environment Supporting Research Opportunities at Kentucky State University”, authored by Kirk Pomper, Michael Bomford, John Sedlacek, George Antonious, Avinash Tope, Ken Andries, and Jim Tidwell was funded by the USDA-NIFA for $600,000. 2011.
A grant proposal entitled “The Kentucky State University Primocane Fruiting Blackberry and Raspberry Trial and Hemipteran Insect Pest Assessment” which was co-authored by K. Pomper and J. Sedlacek was submitted in March, 2011 to the Kentucky Horticulture Council and was funded for $30,000.