Internship With Pecans Helps Student Find Career Path
Nichole Boatman in the field checking traps at a pecan orchard. Photo by Bill Ree.
Boatman inspecting leaflets on pecan tree in Bill Ree's lab at Riverside Campus. Photo by Bill Ree.
Who would have thought that working with pecans would lead to a better understanding of how Extension agents work with the public?
Recently, Entomology student Nichole Boatman spent her summer working with Extension Program Specialist Bill Ree on an internship, where she worked with various projects concerning pecan pests and production.
Boatman, a double-degree student in Entomology and Horticulture, heard about the internship opportunity after speaking with her instructor, Dr. George Ray McEachern after class. He told her to contact Ree about working in pecans with Extension.
Boatman gained valuable real-world lab and field work experience, including running lab experiments and yielding significant data. She learned the impact that research can have on growers and how their information can help maximize pecan growers’ yield and profit.
During her internship, Boatman studied the effects of different pesticides on pecan nut casebearer moths and resistance of aphids to imidacloprid, as well as attending meetings and helping Ree with his work in the field.
Boatman assisted Ree with creating a method to collect aphids from pecan trees and exposing the aphids to various rates of insecticides in the laboratory to measure insecticide resistance in the aphids.
Boatman helped Ree examine how growers can reduce the amount of labor and chemicals by utilizing techniques such as cover crops, trap crops and beneficial insects. They also traveled to several orchards throughout the state to scout for stink bugs. She said they found that the pests preferred to feed on sorghum compared to pecans.
Boatman also traveled to various meetings, including the Texas Pecan Growers Association’s annual meeting in San Marcos. While there, she interacted with growers by answering questions and listening to comments from producers.
During the meeting, she learned how diverse crop management techniques are among the Pecan Belt states and how the economics of pecan production affect growers and businesses associated with pecan production.
“Every day of the internship was an opportunity to learn something new,” she said. “I learned a lot about pecans and how to manage different types of pests.”
In addition to field projects and implementing pecan pest management, she had a great time meeting important people in the pecan industry and making important contacts.
“The experience also taught me the importance of balancing a busy schedule and understanding how to deal with different people's personalities,” Boatman said.
Boatman said that after working with Ree during the summer, she now has a better understanding of the role and responsibilities of an Extension program specialist
“My internship with Bill Ree and Texas AgriLife Extension Service was truly a blessing!” she said. “It was the type of experience I need and made me realize this is exactly the type of career I would like to pursue.”