The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) awarded a $650,000 project grant to Colorado State University's Sponsored Programs division. The grant will fund the design and testing of a novel viral herbicide to selectively target and inhibit the growth of Palmer amaranth, an invasive weed that causes an estimated $33 billion in annual losses to U.S. agriculture. The project aims to develop a biocontainment system to restrict the virus's...
The federal Project Grant award, funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310), is supporting research at Colorado State University to develop innovative methods to address herbicide resistance in problematic weeds. The $294,000 award, effective from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2027, aims to produce research outcomes that can be applied to reverse herbicide resistance in weeds such as Palmer amaranth...
This $221,242 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) Competitive Grants Program (CFDA 10.329) will support research by Louisiana State University Agricultural Center to develop integrated weed management strategies for controlling herbicide-resistant pigweeds like Palmer amaranth and waterhemp in soybean production. The key objectives are to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of cover crops and...
The National Science Foundation awarded Harvest Moon Automation Inc. a $250,665 Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). The grant funds the development of a precision weeder extraction tool that will remove weeds from agricultural fields without using herbicides or soil tillage. Advances in machine vision have enabled identification of individual crop and weed plants in a field. However, existing automated weeders still rely on herbicides or...
Global Neighbor, Inc. received a two-year, $650,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop an agricultural product that destroys weed seeds collected during harvest. The award falls under NIFA's Small Business Innovation Research Program, which supports technological innovation to strengthen the national economy. Specifically, the grant will fund the construction and field testing of a prototype designed in Phase I to...
The $180,000 Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will fund a study examining how resistance to the herbicide glyphosate and insect herbivory may impact the evolution of the common morning glory, an agricultural weed. The principal investigator will conduct a field experiment and molecular biology research to identify the plant defense traits responsible for glyphosate and herbivory...
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...
This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Industrial Innovation, totaling $250,000, supports research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to develop effective and safe pesticide formulations for protecting crops from fungal diseases. Under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the awardee will identify naturally produced molecules with enhanced fungicidal activity against Botrytis cinerea and Phakopsora pachyrhizi, major pathogens causing billions in annual crop...
This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides $274,999 to Robigo, Inc. for research under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). The award will support development of a microbial biopesticide platform to precisely target and eliminate crop pathogens without harming beneficial microbes, pollinators, or humans. Leveraging synthetic biology, CRISPR, and data science, the company aims to engineer improvements increasing efficacy and viability...
This Project Grant award from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) Competitive Grants Program (CFDA 10.329) provides $324,892 to Oregon State University to conduct research on the performance, safety, and economic sustainability of using electric weed control (EWC) as an herbicide resistance management strategy in hazelnut orchards. The key objectives are to: (I) develop weed-specific recommendations for...