Established 1967
Michigan fruit producers are in competition with more than 30 fruit pests that threaten to damage their crops. The primary objective of the 156-acre Trevor Nichols Research Center is to find the best ways to keep fruit pest-free in Michigan while preserving the environment and ensuring economic viability for the state’s fruit growers. Research topics include studying performance attributes of reduced-risk pesticides, optimizing delivery systems for crop protection materials, monitoring and controlling invasive and emerging pests, and developing novel pest management tactics. The center also supports IR-4, a United States Department of Agriculture project that works with specialty crop growers, registrants and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to register products for use on specialty crops, including reduced-risk pesticides.
News
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MSU AgBioResearch names new acting associate director
Published on June 26, 2014
George Smith, MSU animal science professor, will serve as acting associate director of MSU AgBioResearch beginning July 1. -
MSU research centers to host public field days
Published on May 13, 2014
MSU AgBioResearch is inviting the public to tour several of its outlying research centers this summer. -
Attracting wild bees to farms is a good insurance policy
Published on April 4, 2014
A paper co-authored by MSU AgBioResearch's Rufus Isaacs gives farmers of pollination-dependent crops tangible results to convert marginal acreage to fields of wildflowers. -
Single gene separates queen from workers
Published on January 29, 2014
Scientists have identified how a single gene in honey bees separates the queens from the workers. -
Controlling fire blight without antibiotics in organic apples goal of new USDA project
Published on December 20, 2013
A team of Michigan State University (MSU) researchers has begun investigating organic methods for controlling fire blight, a devastating apple and pear tree disease.