Hometown: Ishkashim, Tajikistan near the
Afghanistan border.
Major professor at MSU: Doug Landis
What did you research? Before receiving my M.S. in
spring 2014, I was a graduate student with the Central Asia IPM Project.
I studied biological control of cereal aphids in wheat. We were
mostly interested in natural enemies of cereal aphids. We found that the
natural enemy community was very effective in suppressing cereal aphid
populations. The ground-dwelling predators in the early season were more
effective than predators that typically forage in the canopy.
What or who inspired your studies? My dad was an
agriculturalist and a veterinarian, and he was my first inspiration. Secondly,
in Tajikistan they use a lot of chemicals and don’t have information to use
them safely. They are expensive and unlabeled. Biological control is cheaper
and safer for farmers. Dr. Karim Maredia inspired my interest in biological
control. I met him while helping with a meeting and translating for a field visit.
He told me about MSU and the work in the Landis lab.
What is your favorite activity outside of entomology? I
like dancing. I do the Tajik national dance and I like to bowl, which I learned
here.
Most exciting part of your studies? Counting
aphids!
Future plans? I will return to Tajikistan and
help students at the Institute of Farming. I’ll be assisting a professor with
field studies about natural enemies and biological control. I look forward to
continuing a network with those who have been a part of the IPM CRSP
Central Asia project.
What would you like Americans to know about Tajikistan?I
would like them to know its beautiful nature and about the rocky Pamir
Mountains, the highest mountains in Central Asia.
What would you like Tajiks to know about Americans?People
are very friendly and willing to help. I especially enjoy celebrating
Thanksgiving and would like them to experience that.
Anything else you’d like to say? I would like to
thank all of the IPM CRSP project team (through Feed the Future Security Innovation Lab: Collaborative Research in IPM) for supporting me and making
me feel like MSU is my home.
