Year of Honorary Fellowship, 2019
Dr Archie Murchie is an Entomologist, whom also works on earthworms, flatworms, mites and occasionally slugs, with a main interest in integrated pest management, which he believes is not about killing pests but rather managing them in the most sustainable manner. Nature is incredibly robust and there is always a level of natural pest control within a crop, provided by predators, parasitic wasps and pathogens. We need to learn to use this control (which can be effectively free) in harmony with direct interventions if necessary.
Dr Murchie’s research is concerned with the use of functional biodiversity in sustainable agriculture and the targeted management of nuisance species (either pests, vectors of disease or invasive alien species). He is interested in monitoring the effects of insecticides and fungicides on biocontrol agents, with the ultimate aim of better targeted control measures. More recently, Dr Murchie has been collaborating with colleagues at AFBI to examine the impact of animal wastes on soil fauna.
