DROUGHT STRESS IS AFFECTING MANY REGIONS THROUGHOUT THE U.S. AND WORLDWIDE WITH THE VARIABILITY IN CLIMATE EXTREMES. OUTBREAKS OF PESTS THAT FAVOR THESE CONDITIONS HAS ALSO INCREASED AS A RESULT. WATER-EFFICIENT IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES LEADING TO DROUGHT-TOLERANT CROP PLANTS ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO ALLEVIATE ABIOTIC STRESS, HOWEVER, IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW PEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS WILL CHANGE, PARTICULARLY FOR PESTS THAT OUTBREAK IN WATER-STRESSED CONDITIONS. BY UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF WATER-STRESS ON SPIDER MITES, WEEDS, AND THEIR SHARED CORN CROP HOST WE LOOK TO ELUCIDATE THE FUNDAMENTAL ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES AFFECTING PLANT-ASSOCIATED PESTS (ARTHROPODS AND WEEDS). BY UNDERSTANDING THE HOST USE OF SPIDER MITES AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WEEDS AND CORN AS A SHARED HOST WE WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MULTI-TROPHIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PLANTS AND PESTS. WITH OUR FOCUS ON CLIMATE VARIABILITY AS IT RELATES TO WATER-STRESS EFFECTS ON SPIDER MITES AND WEEDS, WE EXPLICITLY ADDRESS THE INTERACTIONS OF PLANT PESTS WITH ABIOTIC (ENVIRONMENTAL) FACTORS AFFECTING THEIR ABUNDANCE AND SPREAD. WE WILL LOOK AT THE EFFECT OF BEHAVIOR AND MOVEMENT/DISPERSAL OF SPIDER MITES AND WEEDS AS INFLUENCED BY AGRONOMIC PRACTICES (IRRIGATION AND USE OF DROUGHT-TOLERANT CORN HYBRIDS). OUR EVALUATION OF DROUGHT-TOLERANT CORN HYBRIDS AND USE OF WATER-EFFICIENT IRRIGATION SYSTEMS ASSIST IN ADDRESSING THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE RESISTANCE (BY REDUCING THE RELIANCE ON PESTICIDES FOR SPIDER MITES AND WEEDS) AND CROP FAILURE IN WATER-STRESSED CONDITIONS. FINALLY, WE ARE CONDUCTING FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH THAT LEADS TO BIOLOGICALLY-BASED PEST MANAGEMENT APPROACHES TO MANAGE PESTS (SPIDER MITES AND WEEDS).