College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

• Brooks fruit spot

  Appears as irregular, slightly sunken dark green lesions on immature fruit.

• Western flower thrips and flower thrips

  Western flower thrips and Flower thrips are indistinguishable without a microscope. Adults are slender and yellowish, with short antennae; the wings are long and narrow, and held over the abdomen.

• Spring cankerworm

  The adult male is gray and has winding lines on its forewings the female has stumpy gray wings. The larva is pale green to dark brown with two yellow longitudinal bands on the sides. It moves in a looping inchworm fashion.

• Cherry fruit flies

  The adult cherry fruit fly is somewhat smaller than the house fly, with a yellowish brown head and legs, and white crossbands on the abdomen. The black cherry fruit fly is slightly larger and its abdomen is entirely black.

• Cigar casebearer

  Adult is dark gray with fringed wings. The small yellowish larva of the cigar casebearer has a black head and builds and hides in a cigar-shaped shelter that it carries with it while feeding or attaches to leaves and branches of apple trees.

• Lady beetles

  Adults are oval and convex in shape, often brightly colored (e.g., orange-red or yellow) and usually with black spots or marks on their wing covers, sometimes with a checkerboard appearance.

• Hawthorn dark bug

  The young adult is black with red wing markings, which disappear a few days after it metamorphoses into an adult.

• Apple rust mite

  The vermiform adult has two pairs of legs at the front of its body. Brownish yellow in color, they are invisible to the naked eye, requiring a minimum magnification of 15X to be observed.

• Pear thrips

  Adult is slender and brown, with short antennae and a swelling behind the head; the wings are long and narrow, with fringes of long hairs.

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  Pesticide Applicator Training

  This course is designed for those who are studying to take the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP)Exam or for those who need a refresher on safe pesticide handling. The course material follows the National Pesticide Core Manual. Those who complete the course can receive 12 RUP credits.

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  Preschool-Grade 1

  Tollgate Farm and Education Center offers a variety of programs for children in preschool, kindergarten, or first grade to explore the seasons at the farm!

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  Pollinator Protection for Pesticide Applicators

  This self-paced, online course about pollinators is directed toward pesticide applicators with a focus on crops pollinated by honey bees.

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  Integrated Pest Management Academy

  The Desire to Learn Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Academy is an interactive, online program designed to provide a comprehensive and convenient online learning experience. Current topics include an introduction to IPM, plant science, soils 101, natural enemies, conserving pollinators, Enviroweather and scouting.

• Using the 2025 Michigan Apple Cost of Production Study

  Published on November 14, 2025

  This is a recording of the “Using the 2025 Apple Cost of Production Study” webinar held on November 13, 2025. During the video, we look at per bushel and per bin costs, break-evens for both semidwarf and high density plantings, and how to adjust the results to your farm's specific numbers. This webinar was part of the Farm Policy & Risk Management series.

• Annual spotted wing drosophila population variability in Michigan

  Published on February 6, 2020

  Dr. Julianna Wilson of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University talks about spotted wing drosophila populations in Michigan.

• Spotted wing drosophila insecticide efficacy and management programs

  Published on February 6, 2020

  Dr. Larry Gut of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University talks about insecticide efficacy and management programs for spotted wing drosophila in cherries.

• Key Insect Pests and Diseases of Tree Fruits

  Published on March 22, 2022

  Diseases, and pests can show up quickly to ruin fruit crops. This session will help you learn the basics, including management strategies, for important tree fruit diseases and pests common in our region.

• Bernard Zandstra

  Bernard Zandstra is conducting research at Michigan State University's Clarksville Research Center to help farmers keep their apple orchards weed free.

• Understanding and Minimizing Cold Damage in Fruit Crops

  Published on February 18, 2021

  MI Ag Ideas to Grow With 2021 - Fruit Session: Review of winter and spring cold events, how cold damages plants, and measures growers can use to reduce the impact cold on their crops.

• Michigan Tree Fruit Commission - Working in new ways to advance the industry

  Published on April 1, 2024

  The Michigan Tree Fruit Commission was created in 2014 with a focus on upgrading MSU research center infrastructure for apple, cherry, peach and plum projects.