Jürgen GROSS

Jürgen Gross is a Senior researcher and Head of the Applied Chemical Ecology lab at the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Fruit Crops and Viticulture, Dossenheim, Germany. He obtained his PhD at the Free University of Berlin in 2001 on research targeting the evolution of volatile chemical defense compounds (allomones) of leaf beetles.

Jürgen and his team investigate interactions between cultivated plants, plant pathogenic microorganisms, insects and their natural enemies mediated by semiochemicals. They work on pests in fruit crops and viticulture, studying both insect pests and phytopathogenic microbes. The current emphasis is on phytoplasma diseases and their interactions with vectoring insects and host plants. The results of his research are used for targeted manipulations in the context of sustainable control of pest organisms. Moreover, he works on natural compounds produced by insects which bear a potential for the development of new natural pesticides. His work comprises both, fundamental and applied aspects, including laboratory, greenhouse and field trials, behavioral and analytical studies on active compounds and their modes of action.

Since 2017, Jürgen is the acting president of the German Entomological Society (DGaaE). Furthermore, since 2016, he is the President of the International Society for Pest Information (ISPI). He is Editor for the Journal of Pest Science (Editor-in-Chief from 2005-2007), Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Plants, and ZooKeys (Scientific Panel Chrysomelidae). Jürgen is Associate Professor at the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany, teaching “Applied Chemical Ecology”.

He joined the IOBC-WPRS WG “Pheromones and other semio-chemicals in integrated production” in 2004 in Baselga de Pine, Italy and became convenor of this WG in 2012.