7 November 2002 Marsden Medal for Horticultural Science Leader

The New Zealand Association of Scientists' Marsden Medal for 2002 has been awarded to Dr Howard Wearing of Timaru, recently retired from HortResearch.

The medal, presented at a ceremony at Lincoln University today (7 Nov.) recognises Dr Wearing's outstanding contributions to horticultural science in the service of industry, underpinned by his specialised knowledge of insects.

He has made an enormous contribution to New Zealand society, and especially the horticultural industry, since the 1960s. His personal drive and vision for developing multi-skilled research teams to tackle large and difficult problems has resulted in a range of success stories of international importance.

He led the development of integrated pest management for horticulture. This began with the landmark introduction of integrated mite control to the apple industry using insecticide-resistant predatory mites. This was a flagship for programmes integrating natural enemies and reduced pesticide use, which has culminated in the recent widespread adoption of integrated fruit production.

One of his most significant career achievements was to gain access to Japan for cherries and other fruit. This entailed an effective blend of science leadership and country-to-country negotiations over 11 years. Six DSIR Divisions were involved in this project.

His recent leadership in the area of organic and sustainable production systems for apples has had an immense influence. His scientific integrity and rigour has added significantly to the quality of work on this subject. His programme "Biological Orchard Production Systems" which ran from 1992-2000 has seen the first exports of organic apples from New Zealand, yet another innovation with an important future.

His science leadership has been sustained over a wide range of projects throughout his career. He was a prime mover in organising a major international workshop on integrated pest management in 1982 and in establishing the New Zealand Committee on Pesticide Resistance in 1987. He organised New Zealand's first OECD conference in 1994 on the "Ecological Implications of Transgenic Plants" a subject that has now become highly topical.

His outstanding leadership in DSIR was recognised by his elevation to Assistant Director of DSIR Entomology Division. His quiet, modest, but strong leadership style successfully recruited many young scientists to the team, spread out at a number of locations around New Zealand. This legacy is evident from the strong performance of HortResearch entomologists in basic and applied areas of science. His interest in management training for scientists was ahead of its time and has ensured an optimum return on government investment in science.

He is the author of over 100 scientific publications and 40 other articles. He has also supervised and examined an impressive range of MSc and PhD projects for various New Zealand and Australian universities. Dr Wearing has given a lifetime of outstanding service to science in New Zealand and is a worthy recipient of the prestigious Marsden Medal.

For further information contact: Dr Howard Wearing, 674 Rolling Ridges Road, RD4, Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand.