Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** spinach (spinacia oleracea l.)…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** spinach (spinacia oleracea l.) production is threatened by several diseases that individually or together severely reduce yield and quality. The most effective approach to improving productivity, marketability, and sustainability in spinach cultivation is by developing resistant cultivars. Traditionally, spinach breeding has relied on the time-consuming phenotypic selection that delays cultivar release. Alternatively, molecular breeding offers an advantage by accelerating the development of disease-resistant cultivars. The project builds upon the achievement of a previously awarded nifa-scri project (2017-51181-26830), which focused on molecular breeding through molecular characterization of resistance to the three predominant diseases of spinach: downy mildew (DM), white rust (WR), fusarium wilt (FW), which laid the foundation for genetic tools, including SNP markers and genetic maps. Building upon this solid groundwork of molecular breeding initiative in spinach, the current projecttakes on a renewed focus by concentrating on quantitative trait loci mapping, marker validation, and the strategic integration of these findings into cultivar development. This project aims to expedite the development of spinach cultivar resistance to DM, WR, FW, and two emerging leaf spot diseases, namely stemphylium and anthracnose (SLS, ALS). This project aims to generate improved genome-enabled resources to introduce resistant traits into the cultivar development pipelines to effectively manage prevalent and emerging diseases in spinach. The project's long-term goal is to develop new disease-resistant cultivars by utilizing advanced genetic tools and selection methodologies delivered from this project effort that will serve as a valuable resource for spinach improvement. The breeding process will be expedited by integrating newly developed molecular breeding tools benefitting both public and private breeders and growers. The project will address disease threats and contribute to effective disease management strategies by leveraging genetics, genomics, and innovative breeding techniques. This project will address the following areas of the USDA-scri program: (1) research in plant breeding, genetics, genomics, and other methods to improve crop characteristics; and (2) efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases, including emerging and invasive species.