Nebraska welcomes back Brazilian Fulbright to tackle soybean pest

Nebraska entomologists and farmers are welcoming Dr. Edson Baldin back this fall. Baldin is an expert in host-plant resistance at the São Paulo State University, UNESP, Brazil, and he originally came to Lincoln for several months 2011-12 to study the soybean aphid resistant soybean.

Funded by a Fulbright Fellowship, he is now investigating the new soybean pest, the Soybean Gall Midge, with Drs. Tom Hunt and Justin McMechan. Baldin is an Adjunct Professor in the UNL Entomology Department and has brought many students and visiting scholars to Lincoln, Mead (ARDC), Concord (HAL), and North Platte (WCREEC). He currently has two Ph.D. students studying with him in Nebraska - Muriel Soares and Alisson Santana.  

Baldin has been collaborating with the UNL Entomology Department since 2009 and became an Adjunct Professor for the department in 2019. His focus is on possible soybean resistance to insect pests. 

UNL and Nebraskans will have a chance to hear from Baldin as he presents a seminar for the Entomology Department on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, 11 a.m.  The title of his seminar is "Botanical insecticides in agriculture: concepts, research, and applications." More details about his seminar will be available on the UNL Events web page. 

Baldin received his B.S. degree in Agronomy in 1995 and his M.S. degree in Entomology in 1998 from the University of São Paulo, USP, Brazil. He received his Ph.D. degree in Entomology in 2001 from the São Paulo University, USP, Brazil. Dr. Baldin is joined in Lincoln by his wife, Claudia, and their youngest son, Mateus. 

This article originally was written by and featured on the Department of Entomology website.