Hannah Burrack
Professor | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Hannah Burrack is an applied ecologist with a focus on integrated pest management (IPM) in specialty crops.
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Biography
Hannah Burrack is an applied ecologist with a focus on integrated pest management (IPM) in specialty crops. During her 14-year career at North Carolina State University, Burrack led entomology research and extension efforts for blueberries, caneberries, grapes, tobacco and industrial hemp. She generated $10.8 million in funding to support these efforts, authored 71 peer reviewed articles or book chapters, and developed a wide-ranging extension program, including delivering over 500 extension presentations to audiences totally over 28,000 stakeholders. Burrack has a particular interest in the monitoring and management of invasive agricultural pests. Since 2010, she has been an international leader in coordinating research, education and extension efforts on Drosophila suzukii, the spotted-wing drosophila.
Mentorship is a high priority for Burrack. She has advised or served on committees for 5 post-doctoral scholars, 5 international visiting scholars, 13 undergraduate research projects, 13 PhD students and 17 MS students.
Burrack served as the inaugural Director for Education and Outreach with the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative at NC State University from 2020 to 2021. She became chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Entomology on January 1, 2022.
Areas of Expertise (7)
Integrated Pest Management
Invasive Species Biology
Insect Monitoring
Insect Host Choice
Insect-Plant Interactions
Stakeholder Engagement
Public Education
Education (2)
University of California-Davis: Ph.D., Entomology 2007
University of Wisconsin-Madison: B.S., Entomology, Rural Sociology 2002
Links (2)
News (3)
Cricket Crunch: MSU Dairy Store, Department of Entomology create new ice cream flavor
The State News online
2024-05-17
Hannah Burrack is the current chairperson in the Department of Entomology at MSU and is one of the people who organized the symposium, including creating Cricket Crunch. Burrack said the symposium is extremely important to those interested in entomology and those who are already in the field.
Ask the expert: The cicadas are coming
MSU Today online
2024-04-17
For the first time in more than 200 years, two broods of cicadas – Brood XIX, known as the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, known as the Northern Illinois Brood – will emerge from the ground simultaneously. Hannah Burrack, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University, answers questions about this rare occurrence.
Michigan State University creating tools to train veterinarians in honey bee medicine
MSU College of Agriculture & Natural Resources online
2022-10-28
“Veterinary care is often essential to maintain commercial honey bee hives, but honey bee health has not traditionally been part of veterinary training,” said Hannah Burrack, MSU Department of Entomology chair. “Dr. Milbrath is using her deep expertise in honey bee health to develop innovative programs to build the capacity of veterinarians to be proactive partners with beekeepers. This partnership is critical for continued pollination services and food security.”
Journal Articles (5)
Influence of Fungicide Application on Rhizosphere Microbiota Structure and Microbial Secreted Enzymes in Diverse Cannabinoid-Rich Hemp Cultivars
International Journal of Molecular Sciences2024 Microbes and enzymes play essential roles in soil and plant rhizosphere ecosystem functioning. However, fungicides and plant root secretions may impact the diversity and abundance of microbiota structure and enzymatic activities in the plant rhizosphere. In this study, we analyzed soil samples from the rhizosphere of four cannabinoid-rich hemp (Cannabis sativa) cultivars (Otto II, BaOx, Cherry Citrus, and Wife) subjected to three different treatments (natural infection, fungal inoculation, and fungicide treatment). DNA was extracted from the soil samples, 16S rDNA was sequenced, and data were analyzed for diversity and abundance among different fungicide treatments and hemp cultivars. Fungicide treatment significantly impacted the diversity and abundance of the hemp rhizosphere microbiota structure, and it substantially increased the abundance of the phyla Archaea and Rokubacteria.
Widespread establishment of adventive populations of Leptopilina japonica (Hymenoptera, Figitidae) in North America and development of a multiplex PCR assay to identify key …
NeoBiota2024 In recent years, there has been an increase in the adventive establishment and spread of parasitoid wasps outside of their native range. However, lack of taxonomic tools can hinder the efficient screening of field-collected samples to document the establishment and range expansion of parasitoids on continent-wide geographic scales. Here we report that Leptopilina japonica (Hymenoptera, Figitidae), a parasitoid of the globally invasive fruit pest Drosophila suzukii (Diptera, Drosophilidae), is now widespread in much of North America despite not having been intentionally introduced. Surveys in 2022 using a variety of methods detected L. japonica in 10 of 11 surveyed USA States and one Canadian Province where it was not previously known to occur. In most surveys, L. japonica was the most common species of D. suzukii parasitoid found. The surveys also resulted in the detection of Ganaspis cf. brasiliensis (Hymenoptera, Figitidae), the recently-released biological control agent of D. suzukii, in six USA States where it had not previously been found.
Assessing the impact of piercing-sucking pests on greenhouse-grown industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)
Environmental Entomology2024 Cannabis sativa or hemp, defined as
Moisture and soil type are primary drivers of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) pupation
Environmental Entomology2023 Studies in the lab have demonstrated that evaluating the effect of soil moisture and other variables is essential for understanding the importance of environmental factors influencing the Heliothinae pupal stage, but simulated field studies are conducted infrequently. We compared the pupation of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under saturated and unsaturated conditions across 3 distinct soil types (coarse sand, high organic muck, and fine-textured clay) and observed adult emergence, as well as pupal depth and weight. The interaction between soil type and moisture had a significant effect on adult emergence. Fewer adults emerged from dry fine-textured clay soil than from dry coarse sand and high organic muck. However, there was no effect of soil type and no interaction between soil and moisture on pupal depth.
Comparing the effectiveness of different insecticide application orders for suppressing Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) infestation: experimental and modeling approaches
Journal of Economic Entomology2023 Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a key pest of soft-skinned fruit such as blackberry and blueberry. Differing seasonal spray regimes are expected to have variable effects on D. suzukii populations. Semi-field cage trials were performed at three locations in the United States (Georgia, Oregon, and North Carolina) on blueberry and blackberry crops to evaluate this hypothesis. Insecticides with different efficacy rates (ZC - zeta-cypermethrin, SPI - spinetoram, CYAN - cyantraniliprole) were applied during field experiments conducted within large cages. Treatment schedules consisted of two insecticide applications which performed over three weeks. Seasonal treatment schedules were applied in the following order: ZC-CYAN and CYAN-ZC in rabbiteye and highbush blueberry with the addition of a ZC-SPI treatment applied in blackberry.
