Trevor Nichols Research Center hosts final 2025 field day
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EmailOn Sept. 25, the Trevor Nichols Research Center hosted the final field day of the 2025 season, where faculty and staff shared research and strategies on managing fruit crop pests and diseases.
On Sept. 25, Michigan State University’s (MSU) Trevor Nichols Research Center (TNRC) hosted its annual field day for the 2025 season. This was the last in a series of 15 field days announced by MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension that ran from May through September at MSU research stations across the state.
Faculty and staff shared research findings, resources and strategies for addressing challenges in fruit crop pest management. Topics included insecticide efficacy in apples against codling moth, fungicide performance in vineyard trials, insecticide evaluations in berry crops, ambrosia beetles causing apple tree stress and other pest and disease concerns.
Seven presentations were delivered throughout the day by MSU Entomology faculty, staff and students, including Rufus Isaacs, the berry crops entomology Extension specialist. He also serves as the faculty coordinator of the center, and highlighted its unique role during the event. “This research center continues to serve the pest management needs of Michigan fruit growers, providing a valued resource that allows researchers to test new ideas before they are moved to farms for evaluation," said Isaacs. “We are fortunate to have multiple MSU programs working here from various departments across the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, supported by industry, state, and federal funding. This field day is a great opportunity to share this year’s progress.”
He was joined at the event by Julianna Wilson, tree fruit entomology Extension specialist; Nicole Soldan, regional field coordinator of the IR-4 Program; Celeste Wheeler, research technician with the IR-4 program; Amber DeVisser, research technician in the Wilson lab; Heather Leach, technician in the Wilson lab; and Steven Van Timmeren, research assistant in the Isaacs lab. Their presentations provided an overview of 2025 studies and an opportunity to discuss pest challenges facing the fruit industries.
The day also included a tour of the 156-acre research farm managed by a dedicated farm staff. The site is densely planted with grapes, apples, blueberries, pears, cherries and other fruit crops to maximize research opportunities. Attendees rode a tractor-pulled trolley through the fields to see the plots firsthand and learned how trials and experiments are conducted on-site.
The event drew about 25 participants from across the Midwest eager to hear about new and ongoing research and marked the close of this year’s TNRC field day season.
