An example of this effort is the plot of pesticide-free orchard devoted to the work of entomology professor Ron Prokopy. A tireless inventor, Prokopy created the widely used "sticky red spheres" that both monitor and control the apple maggot. Now other kinds of sticky traps and pyramidal structures are being tested in an effort to lessen the devastation of another insect pest, the plum curculio.

Other research at the horticultural center involves studying fruit varieties, training, root stocks, storage, and best management techniques. As a retail outlet and showpiece for research, the center fulfills its outreach/extension role. The Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association, representing 200 growers, suppliers, and other industry professionals, meets here every summer.

"Our industry is more advanced than many throughout the country," says Autio, referring to the level of adoption of integrated pest management techniques. "The rest are just beginning to be involved with what we've been doing for 15 years. And we have some of the most difficult problems here in humid New England."

Still, New England remains a substantial tree-fruit producing area with a $20 million industry. Apples are Massachusetts' second biggest crop after cranberries. And, with its five faculty and one and a half professionals, UMass is the leading institution in New England in tree-fruit studies. "Local growers trust us," says Autio. "They have confidence in the techniques we recommend." A measure of that trust is the generosity of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association in supporting the work of the Horticultural Research Center.

100% Employment
There is strength in numbers, as the Massachusetts Arborists Association vividly demonstrated when it presented a check for $125,000 to UMass on Arbor Day 1997. That check was the first step in establishing a $1.5 million endowed professorship in commercial arboriculture. The 800-member professional organization reached that impressive sum through the collective power of many larger and smaller gifts from people who believe in the value of education. There is also an element of self-interest here for the arborists: a strong commercial arboriculture program at UMass will provide them with the skilled employees they'll need in the coming years.

Skilled is the key word here, as an anecdote from Dennis Ryan demonstrates. Ryan is an associate professor of arboriculture and park management, who was just getting started in the commercial tree-care business in the 1960s. One day a customer chased him down the street after he had finished spraying her tree.

"Obviously you didn't put enough DDT on my elm tree," she said, indignantly. "I can tell because my driveway isn't all white underneath the branches."

"If you did that sort of spraying today," says Ryan, "you'd be locked up." The story not only illustrates the evolution in public attitudes toward pesticides, but the revolution in education, research, and technology in tree care over the past decades. "The green industry is begging for qualified people," says Ryan. "Our graduates have 100 percent employment."

The campus has the oldest arboriculture program in the country, a natural outgrowth of its land-grant beginnings. The first tree-care course was taught in the early 1890s, mostly to tree wardens. The history of the discipline quickly became connected to the rise of federally funded research, and with the development of the extension service.

Today, with a two-year certificate program through the Stockbridge School and a bachelor's degree in forestry, UMass is the only curriculum in the country with so much emphasis on commercial tree care. Like their counterparts in the fruit-tree industry, people who care for ornamental and shade trees make use of the environmentally sound practices of integrated pest management. In addition, the University cultivates the green industry through UMass Extension's diagnostic labs, as well as its educational workshops and seminars for professionals.

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