B. Rogers Leonard, an entomologist with the LSU AgCenter Macon Ridge Research Station in Winnsboro, was among a group of 12 entomologists who received the 2011 Friends of Integrated Pest Management Pulling Together Award.

The award was presented by the Mid-South Entomologist Working Group during the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 5, to recognize outstanding contributions to integrated pest management in the South for successful efforts to develop economic thresholds for the tarnished plant bug, a key pest of cotton.

In addition to Leonard, the group included entomologists from the University of Arkansas, Mississippi State University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Stoneville, Miss.

Leonard, who holds the Jack Hamilton Chair in Cotton Production, also is on the faculty of the AgCenter Department of Entomology in Baton Rouge. His work at the research station focuses on the development and implementation of insect pest management strategies in cotton as well as in corn, grain sorghum and soybeans.