This $968,991 Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) aims to enhance the agronomic and end-use quality traits of organic dry beans through plant breeding and develop value-added bean products using sustainable processing and packaging. The key products and services to be delivered include: Breeding improved organic dry bean varieties focused on enhancing seedling vigor, harvestability, and overall quality for both...
This federal Project Grant award, provided by the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310), aims to diversify and increase the production and availability of high-quality green bean seeds for direct human consumption in the Mid-Atlantic region. The $648,184 award to Virginia State University will study the production, nutritional composition, and consumer acceptability of green seeds...
The University of California, Davis was awarded a $649,480 Project Grant 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 aims to explore the genetic and developmental basis of pod quality traits in snap bean crops that are genetically and environmentally unstable. Specifically, the university will conduct genome-wide association studies, whole genome sequencing,...
This $2,664,745 Project Grant awarded by the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (CFDA 10.309) seeks to introduce the faba bean as a sustainable fall/winter crop in the Mid-Atlantic region. The key objectives are to identify and develop winter-hardy faba bean varieties with desirable agronomic and quality characteristics for both conventional and organic farming, leveraging cutting-edge genomics, phenomics, and...
The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service awarded Michigan State University a $167,372 cooperative agreement from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023 under the Agricultural Research Basic and Applied Research program (CFDA 10.001). The award will support MSU's evaluation and optimization of genomic selection for durable white mold resistance in dry bean. As part of the Agricultural Research Service's mission to make agricultural research discoveries and provide scientific and...
This $5,087,410 federal Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative (CFDA 10.309) supports research and extension activities to develop new bean varieties with enhanced nutritional and popping qualities. The key objectives are to: Improve advanced bean breeding lines with desirable popping and nutritional traits. Evaluate field performance and quality characteristics of new bean varieties under different growing conditions....
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded a $225,000 project grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) to the Hudsonalpha Institute for Biotechnology, a non-profit research organization. The grant will fund a 2-year project to develop new genomic tools and resources for improving the breeding of blueberries and other perennial fruit and nut crops. Key products and services to be delivered include: Generating new genome assemblies for blueberry...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded a $274,083 Cooperative Agreement to Michigan State University (MSU) under the Agricultural Research Basic and Applied Research program (CFDA 10.001) on December 18, 2023. The agreement supports the development of new dry bean cultivars through research and development efforts conducted by MSU, with a scheduled completion date of March 31, 2027. As a premier land-grant research institution, MSU will leverage its scientific expertise and...
This $649,996 federal Project Grant was awarded on July 1, 2024 by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310). The funding supports research by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Northeast Area to develop novel strategies for improving tomato fruit yield and quality. The key objectives are: 1) generating OR gene mutations to examine effects on tomato fruit set and yield; 2) elucidating how the OR gene...
This $299,496 federal Project Grant award from the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program, CFDA 10.310, aims to build gene regulatory networks that combine gene expression and epigenomic data from nitrogen and CO2 treatments to enhance the accuracy of predictions and identify key transcription factors involved in coordinating carbon-nitrogen homeostasis in legumes. The goal is to develop strategies to achieve maximum crop yield and quality in future climates. The award...