This $998,051 federal Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) CFDA program will support the development of a system to help farmers detect and manage downy mildew, a devastating plant disease that affects cucurbit crops like cucumbers and squash. The project aims to create a portable test for early detection of downy mildew spores using rapid detection technology, as well as design a robotic system to automatically collect field samples. By enabling earlier disease detection, this research will help farmers take more targeted and efficient mitigation actions, reducing fungicide use, improving crop yields, and lowering the economic and environmental costs of this disease. The award was granted to North Carolina State University, which has extensive experience conducting federal agricultural research and will likely collaborate with other institutions as sub-awardees to deliver the project outcomes.
Generated 2/25/25, 3:02 AM