Linda King

Linda's key area of research is monitoring of aphid pests for their insecticide resistance status. This work involves receiving different aphid species, including Myzus persicae, which have been collected from field and protected crops and are assessed for signs of resistance to neonicotinoids and other insecticides. The resulting information is used to inform the chemical and farming industry and the Chemicals Regulation Directorate on the most appropriate insecticides for aphid control. Linda has expertise in testing the response of aphids to different insecticides in topical, systemic and leaf-dip bioassays as well as performing molecular assays to determine the frequency of MACE and kdr/super-kdr resistance mechanisms.