Project Grant 102272002Q42163

The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $1,000,000 Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) federal grant program to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop fully biobased and soil-biodegradable mulch films as an alternative to conventional plastic mulches. The University will fabricate mulch films from woody biomass using a dissolution and regeneration process with an inorganic salt solution....

This $300,000 federal Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program aims to evaluate the feasibility of integrating a living mulch system into corn production in the southern United States. The key objectives are to assess the biomass production of perennial cover crops in living mulch systems compared to traditional annual cover cropping, evaluate potential yield trade-offs in corn grown...

The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Purdue University a $649,784 Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program. The four-year grant will fund research to identify genes for nitrogen use efficiency in perennial ryegrass. Perennial ryegrass is a widely grown forage and turf grass species. However, its shallow roots can limit nitrogen uptake and utilization, especially under low-nitrogen conditions. The...

This Cooperative Agreement award from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Plant Conservation and Restoration Management program (CFDA 15.245) provides $742,128.41 in funding to the Institute for Applied Ecology to update and relaunch the Native Seed Network website (www.nativeseednetwork.org). The project aims to create an interactive website that connects habitat restoration practitioners with native seed producers, serving as a catalyst for the native seed industry to promote...

This $749,660 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will fund research into the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a biostimulant alternative to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer for tall fescue and bermudagrass forage systems in the Southeastern United States. Auburn University, in collaboration with the University of Tennessee under a $249,660...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Integrative Activities awarded a $220,890 Project Grant to Mississippi Valley State University to investigate the effects of Nicandra physalodes, a plant containing alkaloids, on the growth and development of noxious weeds, including Pennisetum clandestinum (Kikuyu grass), Echinochloa crus-galli (Barnyard grass), and Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass). The research aims to explore an environmentally friendly, cost-effective integrated weed...

The Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service awarded a $241,700 cooperative agreement to Auburn University from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025 under the Grassland Reserve Program. The university will evaluate the efficacy of various management treatments for maintaining wildflower plantings and maximizing benefits to native pollinators. As part of the Grassland Reserve Program, which assists landowners in restoring and protecting eligible grazing lands through...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) has awarded a $650,000 project grant to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to conduct multi-year trials on 12 cover crop species integrated with corn production. The research aims to gain an improved understanding of the variation in root traits across diverse cover crop species and their influence on soil and cash crops. The project will leverage advanced root phenomics, sensing technologies, and...

The Land Institute received a two-year, $165,000 Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program. The grant will support research to develop an analytical program to identify ecologically-based intercropping systems that can sustainably increase agricultural productivity and crop defenses. Specifically, the Land Institute will leverage a dataset of over...

This $750,000 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) will support research at Michigan State University (MSU) to develop new bioenergy cropping systems capable of enhanced soil carbon sequestration. The project will conduct an in-depth analysis of switchgrass root systems, microbial symbionts, and soil pore structure to better understand how these factors impact soil carbon...