Jacob Pecenka, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, California Organic Center
Email: jacob.pecenka@rodaleinstitute.org
Phone (cell): 605-933-2246
Address: 1014 Ventura Blvd, Camarillo, CA 93010
Jacob is a research entomologist and agroecologist. He grew up in South Dakota and attended South Dakota State University for both undergraduate degree in biology and a MS in natural resource management. Jacob continued to a PhD in entomology at Purdue University where he studied the trade-offs that cucurbit growers face in managing insect pests while conserving insect pollinators and protecting crop yield. This multi-faceted project helped reduce the amount of insecticide applied to these cropping systems and aid in the preservation of pollinators, especially wild species. Currently Jacob is working on several projects at the California Organic Center centered around the use of cover crops to help in vegetable production. Collecting data on soil health, water retention, weed pressure, and insect pests to provide evidence to the viability of cover cropping systems can hopefully lead to wider adoption of cover crops as a solution to some of the troubles organic growers in the region face.
Select Publications
- Pecenka, J.R., Ingwell, L.L., Krupke, C.H., Kaplan, I. 2023. Implementing IPM in crop management simultaneously improves the health of managed bees and enhances the diversity of wild pollinator communities. Sci. Rep. 13, 11033. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38053-5
- Leach, A., Pecenka, J.R., Kaplan, I. 2022. Does IPPM bear fruit? Evaluating reduced risk insecticide programs on pests, pollinators, and marketable yield. J. Appl. Ecol. 59(12): 2993-3002. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14294
- Pecenka, J.R., Ingwell, L.L., Foster, R.E., Krupke, C.H., Kaplan, I. 2021. IPM reduces insecticide applications by 95% while maintaining or enhancing crop yields through wild pollinator conservation. PNAS 118(44): e2108429118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2108429118
- Ingwell, L.L., Ternest, J.J., Pecenka, J.R., Kaplan, I. 2021. Supplemental forage ameliorates the negative impact of insecticides on bumble bees in a pollinator-dependent crop. Proc. Royal. Soc. B. 288: 20210785. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0785
- Fenster, T.L.D., LaCanne, C.E., Pecenka, J.R., Schmid, R.B., Bredeson, M.M., Busenitz, K.M., Michels, A.M., Welch, K.D., Lundgren, J.G. 2021. Defining and validating regenerative farm systems using a composite of ranked agricultural practices. F1000 Research 10:115. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.28450.1
- Pecenka, J.R. and Lundgren, J.G. 2019. Effects of herd management and the use of ivermectin on dung arthropod communities in grasslands. Basic Appl. Ecol. 40: 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2019.07.006
- Pecenka, J.R. and Lundgren, J.G. 2018. The importance of dung beetles and arthropod communities on degradation of cattle dung pats in eastern South Dakota. PeerJ 6: e5220. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5220
- Pecenka, J.R. and Lundgren, J.G. 2015. Non-target effect of clothianidin on monarch butterflies. Sci. Nat. 102:19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1270-y
