Tasks

• Research scientist in the “Applied Chemical Ecology/Biotechnical Plant Protection” lab

Research project: BEET-Protect
“Protecting sugar beets against the invasive super pest, the reed glasswing cicada (Pentastiridius leporinus)”

• Research on the interaction between plants, phytopathogens (Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus, Candidatus Phytoplasma solani), and vector insects
• Investigation of chemical communication between sugar beet and the reed planthopper (Pentastiridius leporinus)
• Analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from leaf material and the rhizosphere using odor collection and headspace GC–MS
• Application of electrophysiological methods (e.g., electroantennography (EAG), gas chromatography–electroantennographic detection (GC–EAD)) to detect perceivable compounds
• Behavioral experiments with infochemicals under laboratory conditions (Y-tube olfactometer, below-ground olfactometer, electrical penetration graph (EPG), Kramer sphere), as well as in field trials to modulate the behavior of adult and juvenile stages of the planthopper