Assistant Professor Matthew Grieshop will use $2.5 million from a USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant to develop a novel delivery system for pesticide, nutrient, and frost protection inputs to apples and cherries. The three-state project will be conducted with horticulturists, entomologists, plant pathologists, economists, and engineers from Michigan State University, Washington State University, and Cornell University. The major expected output of the project will be a specialized "irrigation" system that can deliver aqueous inputs throughout the tree canopy. The system is expected to greatly increase spray timing efficiency and efficacy and reduce: the need for tractors in orchards, input wastage, spray drift, and worker exposure to pesticides. Read more.