UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Larry Hull, professor of entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received the 2008 Alex and Jessie C. Black Award for Excellence in Research.

The honor, which includes a $1,000 cash award and a plaque, recognizes significant accomplishments in agricultural research at Penn State.

Hull is based at the college's Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, Adams County. His research focuses on managing pesticide resistance in various pests of apples; evaluating alternative nonpesticidal management tactics, including ground cover management and pheromone mating disruption; and evaluating natural enemies as biological control agents.

He also has studied the influence of insect and mite damage on fruit tree productivity; developed sampling schemes for monitoring both pest and natural enemy populations; and evaluated experimental and registered insecticides and miticides for inclusion in fruit integrated pest management programs.

Bruce McPheron, the college's associate dean for research and graduate education, notes that Hull's work has been vital to Pennsylvania's $50 million apple industry, which ranks fourth nationally. "Larry Hull has made valuable contributions to our understanding of pest biology and ecology in agricultural ecosystems," says McPheron. "As a result of his research and cooperative extension programs on biological control and other integrated pest management strategies, fruit growers have become more efficient, consumers have received a safer and higher-quality product, and our environment has benefitted from a reduction in the use of pesticides to control serious pests of apples and other fruits."

Hull joined the Penn State faculty as an instructor in 1977 and attained the rank of full professor in 1989. From 1998 until 2006, he was director of the Fruit Research and Extension Center.

He has helped attract more than $6.3 million in research grants to Penn State and has published 77 refereed journal articles, 12 book chapters, nearly 400 nonrefereed technical publications, 11 abstracts and 51 extension bulletins and circulars. He also has advised or co-advised 13 graduate students and mentored eight post-doctoral scholars and research associates.

Hull received his bachelor's degree in biology from Mount St. Mary's College (Md.) and his doctorate in entomology from Penn State.

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EDITORS: Larry Hull can be reached at 717-677-6116 or by e-mail at lah4@psu.edu.

Chuck Gill 814-863-2713 cdg5@psu.edu