2006 Walter Barnard Hill Award
for Distinguished Achievement
in University Public Service & Outreach

Steve L. Brown

Steve L. Brown, professor of entomology, is a leading expert on integrated pest management programs and their impact on peanut production and pests of stored products. He developed a planning tool called the Spotted Wilt Risk Index (SWRI), which helps Georgia farmers reduce the risk of the state’s most devastating peanut disease. He also edited and was senior author of the comprehensive extension publication, “Wireworms Affecting Agriculture in Georgia,” which has become the best source of information on these harmful pests.

In 1995, Brown helped develop the Spotted Wilt Risk Index to reduce the effects of tomato spotted wilt disease, the most serious problem facing the Georgia peanut industry. The Index, which has received national and international attention, helps growers assess their risk for the disease prior to planting and choose production practices that lower the disease risk. Growers who utilize the suppression tactics based on the Index and reduce the risk of tomato spotted wilt have shown increasingly greater monetary returns per acre. The estimated overall monetary impact for the state is more than $27 million annually.

Brown also has developed programs to control insects in soil and in stored agricultural products. Through his research, he designed a machine that quickly and efficiently extracts soil insects in the field, expediting the overall process and giving on-the-spot analysis.

In 1995, Brown built the first demonstration grain treatment and storage facility in the South, which has been used for applied research, training programs, and production of an instructional video, “Managing Stored Grains in the Southeast.” The facility is called the University of Georgia Stored Grain Research and Education Facility.

Brown also has served on a national task force to advise the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on use of a fumigant for grain storage facilities. He currently has a project in Guyana, South America, with the Peanut Collaborative Research Support Program, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Brown’s research and work have provided tools and writings that help reduce losses in peanut crops due to soil insect and diseases. His findings have led to a greater understanding of insect control, increased profits for farmers, and have proved to be useful to the national and international community.