This four-year, $649,912 project grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310) will fund research into the interactions between soil chemical properties, biological processes, and fertilization practices that influence nutrient availability and growth responses in loblolly pine plantations. North Carolina State University will investigate the abiotic and biotic...
This $500,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program supports research to advance the understanding of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis between plants and fungi. The project aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of phosphate transport and its role in regulating this nutritionally-based mutualism, which has significant implications for...
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $749,997 Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program to The Ohio State University on February 1, 2022 for research to be completed by January 31, 2026. The award will support research to characterize phosphorus transport processes through agricultural soils and improve representation of these processes in watershed-scale hydrologic models. Specifically, the university will conduct laboratory...
This $748,835 project grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA #10.310) will fund research into developing novel nano-enabled fertilizers to address challenges in sustainable global food production. The University of Texas at El Paso will explore using nanoscale manganese and iron species as fertilizers, with the goal of substantially improving crop yields beyond...
The Pennsylvania State University received a $650,000 Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund research on improving nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient use efficiency in maize crops. The grant was awarded under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program and will support research from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026. Specifically, the grant will fund analyses of natural, induced, and designed...
Michigan State University was awarded a $610,996 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) federal grant program (CFDA 10.310). The grant will fund research from August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2026 to examine factors contributing to heavy metal contamination in food crops, such as soil properties, field topography, climate, and crop traits. Specifically, the university...
The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGA Research Foundation) was awarded a $179,304 Project Grant under the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program to conduct research on the agroecological consequences of surplus phosphorus in agricultural systems. The project has two primary objectives: 1) conducting manipulative field experiments on collaborating farms to measure the effects of high versus low phosphorus levels on predation of insect herbivores, and...
This $10 million Project Grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program (CFDA #10.310), will fund development of an integrated hydroponic controlled environment agriculture platform for sustainable cultivation of salt-tolerant food crops using saline irrigation water. Clemson University will lead pre-breeding of mustard greens, cucumber, and tomato varieties for salt tolerance, as well as...
Clemson University was awarded a $789,857 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 four-year grant will fund research to identify factors regulating beneficial symbiotic associations between sorghum plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Researchers will study signaling mechanisms that facilitate fungal germination and root association, as well as chemical...
Clemson University received a $866,439 project grant from the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) to improve the yield and profitability of organic vegetable production. The key products and services to be delivered include: Developing new organic fertilizer formulations using manure-based and rendered materials to increase nutrient use efficiency and support crop growth. The project will also pair these new...