Marshall W. Johnson

Extension Specialist and Entomologist Emeritus

Research Areas

My main research interest was in the development of integrated pest management
(IPM) programs for arthropods with the goal of reducing dependence on conventional
pesticides that pose risks to human health and the environment. When feasible, I
prefered to employ biological control by natural enemies. While serving as a
Cooperative Extension Specialist and AES Entomologist, my focus was on pest
problems in perennial tree crops and vineyards in California’s Central Valley. These
pests included several phytophagous species, each posing a different crop injury risk
and management challenge. These were olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi)
(Diptera: Tephritidae); glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar)
(Hemiptera: Cicadellidae); tenlined June beetle, Polyphylla decemlineata (Say)
(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae); oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck)
(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae); olive psyllid, Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Heteroptera:
Psyllidae), and spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura)(Diptera:
Drosophillidae). All of these species were invasive except for tenlined June beetle,
which appears to be native to the western USA and Canada. To develop effective and
sustainable control tactics, it was important to have a good understanding of the
ecology of each pest species within the geographical habitats they occupy.

Contact Information

Entomology

UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 9240 S Riverbend Ave, Parlier CA 93648

(559) 360-4320

marshall.johnson@ucr.edu

Awards Received

2016 – Honorary Lifetime Member, Global International Organization for Biological
Control
2012 - Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award, International Organization for
Biological Control, NRS
2010 - UC Riverside Alumni Assoc. Resolution honoring distinguished contributions to
biocontrol & IPM
2010 - Award for Excellence in Research, Western Assoc. of Agricultural Experiment
Station Directors
2008 - Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2006 - Elected Fellow, Entomological Society of America
1996 - C. W. Woodworth Award, Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America
1992 - Entomological Society of America Recognition Award for Contributions to
Agriculture
1992 - UH Regents' Medal for Excellence in Research, University of Hawaii at Manoa,
Honolulu

Publications

Leppla, N. C., M. W. Johnson, J. L. Merritt, and F. G. Zalom. 2018. Application and
trends in commercial biological control for arthropod pests of tomato. In W. Wakil, G. E.
Brust, and T. M. Perring (Eds.), Sustainable Management of Arthropod Pests of
Tomato. Academic Press, Elsevier, pp. 305–311.
Daane, K. M., X. Wang, D. J Nieto, C. H. Pickett, K. A. Hoelmer, A. Blanchet, and M. W
Johnson. 2015. Classic biological control of olive fruit fly in California, USA: release and
recovery of introduced parasitoids. Biocontrol 60: 317-330.

Krugner, R., M. S. Sisterson, J. C. Chen, D. C. Stenger, and M. W. Johnson. 2014.
Evaluation of olive as a host of Xylella fastidiosa and associated sharpshooter vectors.
Plant Disease: 98: 1186-1193.
Johnson, M. W., X.-G. Wang, H. Nadel, S. B. Opp, K. Lynn-Patterson, J. Stewart-Leslie,
and K. M. Daane. 2011. High temperature impacts on olive fruit fly populations in
California’s Central Valley. California Agriculture 65(1): 29-33.
Daane, K. M., and M. W. Johnson. 2010. Olive fruit fly: Managing an ancient pest in
modern times. Annual Review of Entomology 55: 151-69.
Wang, X.-G., H. Nadel, M.l W Johnson, K. M Daane, K. Hoelmer, V. M Walton, C. H
Pickett, and K. R Sime. 2009. Crop domestication relaxes both top-down and bottom-
up effects on a specialist herbivore. Basic and Applied Ecol. 10: 216-227.
Pandey, R. R., and M. W. Johnson. 2006. Enhanced production of pink pineapple
mealybug, Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell), (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Biocontrol
Science and Technology 16: 389-401.
Hooks, C. R. R., R. R. Pandey, and M. W. Johnson. 2006. Effects of spider presence on
Artogeia rapae and host plant biomass. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 112:
73-77.
Johnson, M. W. 2005. Our war with the insects: Analysis of lost battles. pp. 207-223. In
K. M. Heinz, R. Frisbie & C. Bográn, (eds.), Entomology at the Land Grant University:
Perspectives from the Texas A&M University Department Centenary, Texas A&M
Press, College Station, TX. 341 pp.
Johnson, M. W., N. C. Toscano, H. Costa, and John Palumbo. 2004. Integrated Pest
Management in vegetables and ornamentals in the Western United States. In: Novel
Approaches to Pest Management. (A. R. Horowitz and I. Ishaaya, eds.). Springer-
Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany. pp. 279-299.
Hooks, C. R. R. & M. W. Johnson. 2003. Impact of agricultural diversification on the
insect community of cruciferous crops. Crop Protection 22: 223-238.

Rohrbach, K. G., and M. W. Johnson. 2003. Pests, diseases and weeds. pp. 203-251.
In The Pineapple: Botany, Production and Uses, CABI Publishing, NY, CAB
International, UK (D. Bartholomew, R. E. Paull & K. G. Rohrbach, eds.). 301 pp.
Johnson, M. W., and B. E. Tabashnik. 1999. Enhanced biological control through
pesticide selectivity. pp. 297–317. In: Handbook of Biological Control, Academic Press,
San Diego. (T. Fisher, T. S. Bellows, L. E. Caltagirone, D. L. Dahlsten, Carl Huffaker,
and G. Gordh, eds.). 1046 pp.
Gonzalez-Hernandez, H., M. W. Johnson, and N. J. Reimer. 1999. Impact of Pheidole
megacephala (F.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the biological control of Dysmicoccus
brevipes (Cockerell) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Biological Control 15: 145–152.
Johnson, M. W., and B. E. Tabashnik. 1994. Laboratory selection for pesticide
resistance in natural enemies. pp. 91-105. In: Applications of Genetics to Arthropods of
Biological Control Significance (S. K. Narang, A. C. Bartlett, R. M. Faust, eds.). CRC
Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL. 199 pp.
Tabashnik, B. E., N. L. Cushing, N. Finson, and M. W. Johnson. 1990. Field
development of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis in diamondback moth (Lepidoptera:
Plutellidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 83: 1671-1676.

Department of Entomology