Grant awarded: USDA funds OREI grant to develop a collaborative plant breeding network for organic systems in the Upper Midwest
Julie Dawson (Horticulture) was recently awarded a grant through the Organic Research and Extension Initiative at USDA. The award will provide a total of $1M over three years to build capacity and tools among organic breeders, seed companies, and farmers in providing decentralized testing and regional selection of organic varieties in the Upper Midwest.
Grant awarded: USDA funds SCRI grant to develop tools and community resources for genomics-assisted breeding in polyploids
Jeff Endelman (Horticulture) was awarded a grant through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative at USDA (lead Texas A&M University). The award will provide a total of $610K over four years to enable the routine use of genomic tools to accelerate the rate of genetic gain in a wide array of polyploid crop breeding programs, which will lead to cultivars with higher quality, greater productivity, and more resilience to biotic and abiotic stress.
Grant awarded: USDA Funds SCRI-CAP grant to develop disease resistant cucumbers with applied genomics tools
Yiqun Weng was awarded a grant through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative -Coordinated Agriculture Project (SCRI-CAP) at USDA (lead Michigan State University). The grant will provide $450K over four years to conduct genetic mapping in both biparental and natural populations for downy mildew resistance in cucumber, and develop enhanced germplasm with multiple disease resistances through genomics-aided breeding.
Grant awarded: USDA Funds OREI grant to develop value-added grains for local and regional food systems
Lucia Gutierrez (Agronomy) and Julie Dawson (Horticulture) were awarded a grant through the Organic Research and Extension Initiative at USDA (lead Cornell University). The grant will provide $285K over three years and will substantially increase the number of varieties of wheat and other small grains with high market potential available to organic farmers and will characterize varieties of wheat for milling and baking quality, sensory and flavor components, and nutritional value