Michigan State Horticultural Society

Distinguished Service Award

David Epstein currently is the Michigan State University IPM Specialist in Tree Fruit. Dave has held this position since 2000. He was born and raised in New York. Dave and his wife, Jane, have two daughters and live in Lansing. Their path to Michigan included stops in California and Washington.

For many years, Dave owned a painting business in the San Francisco Bay area in California. In 1992, he decided to pursue his love for agriculture at California State University, Chico. He completed his B.S. in Crop Science in 1996. His desire to work closely with growers led him to pursue a Master’s degree in Entomology at Washington State University. His research entailed on-farm studies of the impact of different pest management programs on natural enemies of apple pests.

Dave received his M.S. in 1998, and less than a year later was recruited by Michigan State University to coordinate the Michigan Apple Integrated Pest Management Implementation Project. He interacted with over 100 apple growers over the course of the project and worked hard to ensure the project was a success.

As IPM Specialist in Tree Fruit, Dave has been involved in numerous research projects, including mating disruption for control of fruit pests, new monitoring systems for plum curculio and fruit flies, and biological controls of codling moth. Other projects have involved the timing and efficacy of new insecticide chemistries and orchard ground floor management. He has also helped develop educational materials that foster IPM adoption, including an apple scouting DVD, IPM pocket guides for stone fruit and apples, and a tart cherry pest guide calendar. The IPM pocket guides, along with two other publications submitted by MSU, received an Entomology Educational Project Award in 2004 from the Board Certified Entomologists of Mid America.

Dave's energy, skills, and knowledge are well appreciated by the industry and his professional colleagues and it is with great pride that we acknowledge him with the 2004 Distinguished Service Award.