College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Entomology

Joseph Noling, a retired research nematologist and extension specialist, began his career in nematology more than 30 years ago at Michigan State University. An MSU Entomology alumnus, he went on to a “fruitful” career at the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center, where he served as a research nematologist and extension specialist with statewide responsibilities for all fruit and vegetable crops.

Nationally and internationally recognized, Noling specialized in diagnosing and managing economically significant nematode issues affecting fruit and vegetable crops. His research addressed inconsistencies in soil and foliar nematicide treatments and advanced the development of tools for assessing plant growth and mapping nematode-induced plant decline using both ground-based and aerial remote sensing technologies. For his impactful contributions, he was selected to receive the Department of Entomology’s 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award.

We caught up with Joe to reflect on his career and his time at MSU.

Q: How did your experience at MSU shape your career in nematology and pest management?

A: I felt especially fortunate to have had the opportunity to work as an undergraduate field assistant in Entomology under the supervision of Tom Ellis and then as a master student with Dr. George Bird. As a field assistant, I learned the quantitative side of entomological research, the need for standardized protocols and treatment replication. As an undergraduate in Entomology and a working field assistant, I frequently worked for and or interacted with departmental PhD students at the time such as Bill Ravlin, Ray Carruthers, Emmet Lampert, and Dan Lawson. In the long-term perspective, these interactions were professionally, academically, and socially very rewarding. It was also so great to be working and studying within the department at a time when Dean Haynes, Stuart Gage, Tom Edens and Lal Tumala were pioneering such new and novel insights into the bigger picture of system science, economics, modeling and validating pest phenology, and assessments of multiple levels of pest interactions. I feel that my education at MSU really prepared me well for a career in entomology and beyond. Dr. George Bird then carried the training to a higher level, preparing me well for a new career in Nematology. Based on this training, I feel that I too have significantly advanced the science and delivery of Integrated Pest Management programs within Florida, the U.S., and across the globe.

Q: Is there a particular fieldwork experience that stands out in your memory—something especially impactful or unexpected?

A: Working as a field assistant within the Department during the summer of 1977, I was charged with assisting Dr. George Bird to be a projectionist for oral papers being presented at the sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Society of Nematologists being held in East Lansing that year. At the time I was considering a Master’s degree offer with Dr. Bird. Intently watching and listening to 4 days of symposia and oral presentations, they really opened my eyes to what was an exciting new world of nematology that I had not been exposed to prior. I am so thankful to George for guided me down such a new and final bifurcation in the career pathway towards nematology, without anxiety or apprehension.

Q: For those who might not be familiar, what are plant-parasitic nematodes, and why are they such a challenge for growers?

Plant parasitic nematodes are microscopic roundworms that feed on the roots, tubers or foliar tissues of pretty much all plants, typically causing wilting, stunting, malnutrition, plant decline, reduced yields, and oftentimes plant death. In many cases, symptoms are directly related to the levels of root dysfunction. The diversity and ubiquitous distribution of economically important plant parasitic nematodes species are generally highest under subtropical and tropical environments where temperatures and soil moisture regimes provide highest growth rates. With such short generation times (18-20 days), and with such high fecundities possible, problems can get out of hand very quickly in Florida. Nematodes are a very important pest component within all of the fruit and vegetable crops grown in Florida.

Q: What’s one surprising or little-known fact about nematodes that even some scientists might not know?

A: I think I would have to say their abilities to vertically move great distances within the soil profile and to do it relatively quickly, in a manner of days and weeks. Given that nematode measure about 1 to 2 mm in length and 0.1 mm wide, it came as a rather striking revelation to see nematodes moving as much as 10 feet in soil depth in the span of 14 to 21 days. This is important because it greatly expands the depth to which nematode populations should be assessed in soil and greatly expands soil management considerations and treatment zones for nematode populations. So, the surprising fact is that shallow treatment of the soil profile only seems to delay the arrival times of nematodes upwardly migrating from deeper soil horizons below the treated zones.

Q: Can you share an example of a time when your research directly helped a grower improve crop yield or solve a pest problem?

A: Carlos Santos, a strawberry grower and immigrant from Cuba, had a particularly severe problem with Sting nematode. His inability to communicate in English was unfortunately coupled to his inability to afford appropriate management strategies to correct the problem, he was not really capable of benefiting from all the extension resources that were available to help him resolve the problem. After a threshold number of drive bys, you have to stop and determine whether the grower understands the problem confronting him and or the ways and means in which to resolve it. I linked up with a UF pathologist who spoke Spanish, and the problem was nearly corrected by the next growing season via extension education and sponsorships from within the Strawberry Agricultural Community. Truly a success story which rescued the livelihood of what was a silent, but desperate, family needing assistance.