By Jamie Martin
Agricultural students researching insects, weeds, plant diseases and other pest management challenges have a new opportunity to take their work beyond the classroom and share it with the agricultural industry.
Pest Tactic Journal has opened its 2026-2027 Student Paper Competition, inviting undergraduate and graduate students across the United States to submit original work focused on pest management.
The competition places particular emphasis on practical research and technical information that can help growers, crop consultants, extension professionals and others make better pest management decisions.
Submissions opened Nov. 1, 2026, with an initial deadline of March 30, 2027, or until organizers receive a sufficient pool of eligible entries.
Turning Student Research into Practical Information
While original scientific research is eligible, the competition is not limited to traditional academic research papers.
Students can submit technical and extension articles addressing practical pest management strategies, tools and techniques.
Topics may include recommendations for controlling agricultural pests, the use of chemical or biological products, field and laboratory demonstrations and comparisons of different pest management methods.
Case studies are also eligible, along with profiles examining the biology, identification and management of invasive, emerging or other pests.
Original research articles can cover laboratory and field experiments, surveys, observational studies and other quantitative or qualitative scientific work.
Scientific reviews examining existing pest management research are another eligible category.
That range could give students working on applied agricultural projects an opportunity to translate their research into information that is more accessible to farmers and crop professionals.
Students Can Earn Cash and Publication
The competition includes $1,000 in total cash prizes.
The first-place winner will receive $500, an award certificate, featured publication and a waiver of the journal's article processing charge.
Second place will receive $300 plus an award certificate and featured publication. The third-place student will receive $200, a certificate and featured publication.
To qualify, entrants must currently be undergraduate or graduate students at accredited U.S. colleges or universities.
The student must be the first author, although faculty advisers and research collaborators can be included as co-authors. Manuscripts must be original submissions to the journal.
Entries Face Peer Review
Students will also receive experience with a process they are likely to encounter if they continue into agricultural research or academia.
The journal's editorial board will first review entries before selected manuscripts advance to external reviewers through its standard peer-review process.
Only articles that successfully pass initial editorial review and peer review will be eligible for an award.
Accepted papers will then be evaluated for factors including practical relevance to pest management, scientific rigor and methodology, originality and feedback received from external reviewers.
The process puts an emphasis on more than simply producing an academically strong paper. Students must also demonstrate why their work matters to people managing pests in the field.
Opportunities for the Next Generation of Crop Experts
Pest management continues to evolve as farmers balance crop protection with resistance management, new technologies, changing pest pressures and the availability of chemical and biological tools.
Universities and their students can play an important role in testing those technologies and investigating new approaches.
Giving students an opportunity to publish applied work can also help connect research taking place on university farms and in laboratories with crop advisers, extension professionals, growers and other people making field-level decisions.
For students considering careers in entomology, weed science, plant pathology, agronomy, crop consulting, extension or other areas of crop protection, the competition can also provide experience communicating technical information to an agricultural audience.
Students entering the competition must follow Pest Tactic Journal's author guidelines and identify their submission as a “Student Competition Entry.” They must also provide the manuscript category, designate a corresponding author and include their institution and current student status.
Accepted papers normally carry an article processing charge, with that fee waived for the first-place winner.
Photo Credit: Pest Tactic
Categories: National