Education

• Assoc. in Agribusiness, Assiniboine Community College, Manitoba, Canada, 2006
• B.S. in Agronomy, University of Minnesota, Crookston, 2009
• M.S. in Entomology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2012
• D.P.H. Doctor of Plant Health, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2016
• Ph.D. in Entomology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2016

Total Summary of Accomplishments (2016-Present)

• Grants from Federal, Industry, and Commodity Boards
  • $8,751,937 (*not including Fee-For-Service)
  • 84 submitted with 54 funded
• Publications of Refereed Journal Articles: 36
• Conference Presentations: 129
  • 1 Invited International Conference
  • 3 Invited National Conferences
  • 11 Invited Regional Conferences
  • 66 National or Regional Talks
  • 49 National or Regional Posters
• Extension Events & Presentations
  • Extension Presentations: 221
  • Clientele - 15,075
  • CropWatch Articles: 84
  • Conference Proceedings: 13
  • Unique Visitors for https://soybeangallmidge.org: >16,000.
• Service
  • Associate Editor: Crops, Forage, and Turfgrass Management
  • Grant Panels: 2
  • Committees: 13
• Students and Post-Doctoral Advising
  • Postdoc Supervisor: 3
  • Major advisor and co-major advisor for Ph.D. students: 5
  • Major advisor and co-major advisor for M.S. student: 9
  • Graduate Committees: 20
  • Advisor and Mentor for Undergraduate Students: 6
  • Graduate Visiting Scholars: 5
  • Undergraduate Visiting Scholars: 10

Professional Responsibilities and Activities

• His research program has been built from emerging agricultural issues (pests of cover crop-to-corn systems, corn ear abnormalities, soybean gall midge, and hail damage in row crops) that have occurred over the last 5 years.
• Dissemination of that information to clientele occurs through a combination of innovative (automated phone, text, email, timelapse, infographics) and traditional techniques (field days, news articles, interviews).

Publications

1. Von Gries, SC, J Awad, EJ Talamas, AJ McMechan, RL Koch, ARI Lindsey. 2025. Synopeas ruficoxum Buhl (Hymentopera, Platygastridae) is a natural enemy of soybean gall midge, Resseliella maxima Gagne (Dipetera, Cecidomyiidae). J. Hymenop. Res. 98: 721-742. 
2. Lisboa, IP, AJ McMechan, RW Elmore, CA Proctor, Allen Geyer, Peter Thomison, Alexander Lindsey, Mark Zarnstorff, James Houx, OA Ortez. 2025. Popcorn stand reduction in the United States Midwest: Insights on plant traits and grain yield. 329: 109955.
3. Gupta, P. and A.J. McMechan. 2025. Impact of hilling timing on soybean gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) abundance, plant injury, and yield. Journal of Economic Entomology. 118(2): 724-731.
4. Doris M Lagos-Kutz, Isabel Plasencia, Christopher H Dietrich, Joseph LaForest, Brian McCornack, Erin Hodgson, Raul T Villanueva, Nicholas J Seiter, A.J McMechan, Michael S Crossley, Steven J Clough. 2025. First report of corn leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in the USA Midwest Suction Trap Network. Insecta Mundi. 1110:1-10.
5. de Vasconcelos Gomes, Victor Emmanuel, Corinne Lee, Alexander Lindsey, Wanderson Novais, Nasib Koirala, Mark Zarnstorff, James Houx, A.J. McMechan, Osler Ortez, and Elliot Knoell. 2024. Defoliation level and timing affect popcorn yield traits in the Midwestern United States. Field Crops Research 315: 109472.
6. Silva, Tatiane Severo, Spyridon Mourtzinis, Anthony Justin McMechan, Gabriela Inveninato Carmona, Bruce D. Potter, Kelley J. Tilmon, Louis S. Hesler. 2024. Cereal rye cover crop termination at or before soybean planting has minimal effect on soybean yield across the midwestern US. Field Crops Research 312: 109393.
7. Chen, Dongmei, Gary L. Hein, Rebecca Adams-Selin, Lin Wang, Jingcheng Zhang, Xianfeng Zhou, Huiqin Ma, A. J. McMechan, and Yeyin Shi. 2024. Spatial relationship between pre-harvest hail and the impact from the wheat streak mosaic disease complex by using remote sensing data. Crop Protection. 179: 106627.
8. Lisboa, I. P., C. A. Proctor, R. W. Elmore, A. J. McMechan, N. D. Mueller, J. Wilson, G. Zobeck, A. Nygren, A. Bastidas, and O. A. Ortez. 2024. Evaluating the yield of surviving plants from early‐season hail damage in corn: A field survey. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment 7(3): e20533
9. Ortez, O.A., A.J. McMechan, E. Robinson, T. Hoegemeyer, R. Howard, and R.W. Elmore. 2024. Abnormal ear development in corn: Does hybrid, environment, and planting date matter? Agronomy Journal. 155: 1796-1811.
10. McMechan, A.J., J. Schroeder da Souza, N. Umezu, P. Gupta, and G. Inveninato. 2023. Hilling as a cultural control strategy for soybean gall midge. Resseliella maxima (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Journal of Economic Entomology. 116(6): 2009-2013. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – draft, review & editing
11. Carmona, G. and A.J. McMechan. 2023. Evaluating the impact of at-plant termination of a cereal rye cover crop with different corn planting dates on arthropod activity. Environmental Entomology. 52(3): 371-378. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
12. Baldin, E.L.L., M.C. Emanoeli-Soares, A. da Silva Santana, T.E. Hunt, A.J. McMechan, A.M. Velez Arango, and J. Louis. 2023. Efficacy of ethanolic seed extracts of Annona spp. against Aphis glycines. Crop Protection, 170: 106268. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, and Supervision
13. Ortez, O., A.J. McMechan, T. Hoegemeyer, R. Elmore, E. Robinson., and R. Howard. 2023. Abnormal ear development in corn: Does hybrid, environment, and seeding rate matter? Agronomy Journal. 2023; 1-16. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
14. Carmona, G., E. Robinson, A. Rosa, C. Proctor, and A.J. McMechan. 2022. Impact of cover crop planting and termination dates on arthropod activity in the follow corn. Journal of Economic Entomology. 115 (4): 1177-1190. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
15. Ortez, O., A. J. McMechan, T. Hoegemeyer, I. Ciampitti, R. Nielsen, P. Thomison, and R.W. Elmore. 2022. Conditions potentially affecting corn ear formation, yield, and abnormal ears: a review. Crop, Forage, & Turfgrass Management. 8:e20173. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
16. Helton, M., N. Tinsley, A.J. McMechan and E. W. Hodgson. 2022. Developing an injury severity to yield loss relationship for soybean gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Journal of Economic Entomology. 115(3): 767-772. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Provided Data, Writing – review & editing
17. Ortez, O. A. J. McMechan, T. Hoegemeyer, J. Rees, T. Jackson-Ziems, and R. W. Elmore. 2022. Ear development issues in corn: A field survey. Agroeco., Geo. & Env. 5(1): 1-18. Role: Conceptualization, Data collection, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
18. Ortez, O., A. J. McMechan, T. Hoegemeyer, I. Ciampitti, R. Nielsen, P. Thomison, and R.W. Elmore. 2022. Abnormal Ear Development in Corn: A Review. Agronomy Journal. (114)2: 1168-1183. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.
19. Carmona, G. E. Robinson, J. Campos, and A.J. McMechan. 2022. Impact of timing and use of an insecticide on arthropods in cover crop-corn systems. Insects. 13(4): 348-366.
20. McMechan, A. J., E. Hodgson, A. J. Varenhorst, T. Hunt, R. Wright, and B. Potter. 2021. First report of a new species, Resseliella maxima (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), causing injury to soybean in the United States. Journal of Integrated Pest Management. 12(1): 8, 1-4. Role: Project Administration, Conceptualization, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – original, review & editing
21. Carmona G., L. M. Delserone, J.N. Duarte Campos, T. Ferriera de Almeida, D. Ozorio, J. Betancurth Cardona, R. Wright, and A.J. McMechan. 2021. Does cover crop management impact arthropods in the subsequent corn and soybean crops in the USA? A systematic review. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. doi: 10.1093/aesa/saaa049. Role: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing
22. Hunt, E., H. Birge, C. Laingen, M. Licht, W. Baule, A. J. McMechan, and T. Connor. 2020. A perspective on changes across the U.S. Corn Belt. Environmental Research Letters. ERL-108408-R1.
23. Scierresi, C., C. Proctor, E. Haramoto, L. Lindsey, G. Carmona, R. Elmore, S. Everhart, W. Looker, M. Marroquin-Guzman, A. J. McMechan, J. Wehrbein, R. Werle, and M. Salmeron. 2020. Evaluating short-season soybean management adaptations for cover crop rotations with a crop simulation model. Field Crops Research 249: 107734.
24. Carmona G., J. Rees, R. Seymour, R. Wright, and A. J. McMechan. 2019. Wheat Stem Maggot (Diptera: Chloropidae): An emerging pest of cover crop to corn transition systems. Plant Health Progress. 20: 147-154.
25. Gagne, R., J.  Yukawa, A. Elsayed, and A. J. McMechan. 2019. A new pest species of Resseliella (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on soybean (Fabaceae) in North America with a description of the genus. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 121(2):168-177. Role: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing
26. Tatineni, S. A. J. McMechan, and G. Hein. 2018. Wheat streak mosaic virus coat protein is a determinant for vector transmission by the wheat curl mite. Virology. Role: Data collection, Writing – review & editing
27. Wosula, E. A. J. McMechan, E. Knoell, T. Satyanarayana, S. Wegulo, and G. Hein. 2018. Impact of timing and method of virus inoculation on the severity of wheat streak mosaic disease. Plant Disease. Role: Conceptualization, Data collection, Writing – review & editing
28. McMechan, A. J. and G. L. Hein. 2017. Population dynamics of the wheat curl mite (Acari: Eriophyidae) during the heading stages of winter wheat. Journal of Economic Entomology. 110(2): 355-361. Role: Conceptualization, Analysis, Data collection, Writing – review & editing
29. Nguy-Robertson T., A. Zygielbaum, McMechan, A., G. Hein, S. Wegulo, A. Stilwell, and T. Smith. 2016. Developing a framework for a risk map for mite vectored viruses in wheat resulting from pre-harvest hail damage in western Nebraska, U.S.A. Crop Protection. 89: 21-31.
30. Wosula, E., A. McMechan, C. Oliveira-Hofman, S. N. Wegulo, and G. L. Hein. 2016. Differential transmission of two isolates of Wheat streak mosaic virus by five wheat curl mite populations. Plant Dis. 100(1): 154-158.
31. McMechan, A. J. and G. L. Hein. 2016. Planting date and variety selection for management of viruses transmitted by the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella Keifer). Journal of Economic Entomology. 109(1): 70-77.
32. Byamukama E., S. Tatineni, G. Hein, J. McMechan, and S. N. Wegulo. 2016. Incidence of Wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, and Wheat mosaic virus in wheat curl mites recovered from maturing winter wheat spikes. Plant Dis. 100(2): 318-323.
33. Tatineni, S., A. McMechan, M. Bartels, G. L. Hein and R. A. Graybosch. 2015. In vitro transcripts of wild-type and fluorescent protein-tagged Triticum mosaic virus (Family Potyviridae) are biologically active in wheat. Phytopathology. 105(11): 1496-1505.
34. Wosula, E., A. McMechan, G. L. Hein. 2015. The effects of temperature, humidity, virus infection status on off host survival of Aceria tosichella (Trombidiformes: Eriophyidae). J. Econ. Ent. 108(4): 1545-1552.
35. Tatineni S., A. McMechan, E. Wosula, S. Wegulo, R. Graybosh, R. French, and G. Hein. 2014. An eriophyoid mite-transmitted plant virus contains eight genomic RNA segments with unusual heterogeneity in nucleocapsid protein. Journal of Virology 88(20): 11834-11845.
36. McMechan A., S. Tatineni, R. French and G. Hein. 2014. Differential transmission of Triticum mosaic virus by wheat curl mite populations collected in the Great Plains. Plant Disease. Plant Disease. 98(6): 806-810.

Book Chapter:

1. Hein, G., A.J. McMechan, and L. Overmyer. 2023. Burleigh Dodds Series in Agriculture. Chapter 11: Wheat curl mite ecology and epidemiology of its associated viruses. Published: May 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.19103/AS.2022.0114.11

Professional Society Memberships

• Entomology Society of America
• American Phytopathological Society of America
• American Society of Agronomy
• Crop Science Society of America
• Soil Science Society of America