Dr Howard Wearing, of Auckland, ONZM, for services to entomology and the fruit and orchard industries
Dr Howard Wearing is an entomologist and pioneer of sustainable pest management in New Zealand’s fruit and orchard industries. While working for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), he researched innovative pest management techniques in apple orchards. He helped implement best-practice modern apple production in New Zealand to minimise damage to fruit. His programme ‘Biological Orchard Production Systems’ and the associated Integrated Fruit Production programme reduced insecticide use by 90 percent and led to an increase in fruit exports. He was Team Leader of the Ecology and Horticulture Groups and then Assistant Director of DSIR’s Entomology Division. He oversaw research that contributed significantly to government-funded science nationally. Dr Wearing has published more than 150 scientific papers and the 2019 book ‘Farewell Silent Spring: The New Zealand Apple Story’.