George Opit

George Opit is a Professor of Stored Product/Postharvest Pest Management in the Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University. He joined the university in 2008 and has expertise in integrated pest management (IPM) of stored-grain arthropods, phosphine resistance, and psocid biology. His research focuses on optimizing pest management through understanding pest ecology and population dynamics. He teaches courses like Introduction to Entomology and oversees doctoral research.

• Education: PhD (Entomology, Kansas State University, 2003), MSc (Project Management, Simon Fraser University), BSc (Makerere University, Uganda).

Research interests include psocid ecology, resistance management, and fumigant tolerance in stored-product pests. His work combines field and lab studies to develop sustainable pest control strategies.

Publications emphasize biological control (e.g., using Xylocoris predators), hermetic storage systems, and molecular diagnostics for pest identification. His studies often address global food security challenges in postharvest storage.

He collaborates internationally, particularly in Ghana and Nigeria, evaluating storage technologies like ZeroFly® bags and PICS bags for reducing postharvest losses. His lab facilities at the Noble Research Center support advanced entomological research.