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Editor: Kelly Sprute March 31, 2021
Making a Difference
 Rikky Rai waters pumpkin plants in a University of Illinois greenhouse. Photo courtesy of Montgomery Flack.
Genome Sequenced for Pesky Pumpkin Pathogen
Pumpkin growers dread the tiny tan scabs that form on their fruit, each lesion a telltale sign of bacterial spot disease. The specks don’t just mar the fruit’s flesh, they provide entry points for rot-inducing fungus and other pathogens that can destroy pumpkins and other cucurbits from the inside out. Either way, farmers pay the price, with marketable yields reduced by as much as 90 percent.
Despite the disease’s severity, scientists don’t know much about the genetics of the pathogen that causes it; nearly all the molecular information required for accurate diagnostic testing and targeted treatments is lacking for the disease.
In a new study, University of Illinois scientists, with the help of two undergraduate students, have assembled the first complete genome for the bacteria that causes the disease, Xanthomonas cucurbitae, and identified genes that are activated during infection. This research was supported with USDA’ National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Hatch funds. For more information, read the University of Illinois ACES News article.
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Hispanic-Serving Institutions Spotlight: Puerto Rico Natural Resources Career Tracks
The Puerto Rico Natural Resources Career Track (PRNRCT) is a collaboration among four Hispanic Serving Institutions in Puerto Rico and the United States Department of Agriculture. The primary objective is to diversify the USDA Forest Service’s workforce by providing career-track opportunities for Hispanic students in critical natural resource fields to manage our natural resources. Started in 2011, PRNCT engages students in career-building activities such as workshops, seminars, field trips, field classes, and program retreats. Academic and professional mentorships also help them gain awareness of career opportunities within the USDA. For more information, read this NIFA blog by guest authors: University of Puerto Rico’s Jess Zimmerman and Erika Lynn Concepción, along with USDA Forest Service's Pedro Ríos.
PRNCT faculty, staff, and students. Photo courtesy of the University of Puerto Rico.
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Going Underground: Eliminates Culprit for Rapid Apple Decline
Since 2013, a mysterious phenomenon has been killing apple trees across North America, leaving growers in panic and scientists bewildered. The phenomenon has been named “rapid apple decline” for its sudden onset, which causes apple trees to deteriorate and die rapidly. Now, two scientists from Cornell University’s College of Ag and Life Sciences are on a mission to find the cause. This effort is thanks to a recent grant of $299,000 from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The three-year project, “Root Traits and Rapid Apple Decline in High Density Orchards,” is one of the first federally funded projects to research the rapid decline of the apple in the United States. Professor Awais Khan, Co-Principal Investigator, and Professor Marc Fuchs will examine the complex dynamics of apple tree root systems and explore the behavior of viruses in commercial apple orchards. For more information, read the Cornell Chronicle article.
Awais Khan examines apples in an orchard. Image courtesy of Cornell University.
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Researcher to Study Potassium Sorption and Fixation in Agricultural Soil
The application of fertilizer and how well it is absorbed into the soil is critical to all crop growth, but particularly when it comes to cotton. Being able to uptake the nutrients applied, however, relies on numerous factors, not the least of which are the chemical reactions that occur within the soil upon application. One of the most crucial of those nutrients needed for growth is potassium. To better understand the factors that chemically determine potassium fixation in soil, Texas Tech University Assistant Professor Matthew Siebecker will conduct a series of experiments with nanoparticle and micron-sized silicon and aluminum oxides and clay minerals to better understand these reactions. Siebecker and co-principal investigator Katie Lewis received a $335,489 grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, read the Texas Tech Today article.
Matthew Siebecker. Image courtesy of Texas Tech University.
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Biologist to Study How Plants Respond to Insect Attacks
The College of New Jersey’s Assistant Biology Professor Melkamu Woldemariam was awarded a $1 million grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. The funding will be used by Woldemariam, a plant biologist specializing in molecular and chemical ecology, to support his research program and to engage undergraduate research collaborators in his work. Woldemariam’s research involves comparing the chemical composition of corn varieties and how we can better prevent against insect attack, as well as revealing the genetic causes for the variability in plant chemical defenses. For more information, read The College of New Jersey article.
Melkamu Woldemariam. Image courtesy of The College of New Jersey.
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Developing Virtual Reality Training for AG Safety Education
Safety awareness is critical for operators of agricultural equipment, and a core component of training for applicator technicians. A new University of Illinois project aims to develop virtual reality simulation materials for an immersive learning experience. University of Illinois’s Assistant Professor Salah Issa, in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received a $500,000 grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for the project. Issa will develop the curriculum in collaboration with Jennifer Fridgen and Jerry Lighty, educators at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, who will test the training materials with their students. The goal is to enhance the ag equipment safety course in the Advanced Applicator Technician AS degree program at Parkland College. For more information, read the University of Illinois ACES News article.
Parkland College’s Jerry Lighty (left) and University of Illinois’s Salah Issa. Image courtesy of University of Illinois.
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Getting to Know the Trees
After more than a century of seeing the trees on their reservation axed and even clearcut by outside loggers operating with U.S. Forest Service permits, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe now has more say in activities on its land in Minnesota. This recent change coincides with new federal funding under the McIntire-Stennis Act for Leech Lake Tribal College’s forestry program. Thanks to a 2018 amendment to the McIntire-Stennis Act, tribal colleges became potentially eligible for this designated funding via USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). As NIFA National Program Leader Erin Riley explained in a mid-March phone call, Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) and Salish Kootenai College in Montana are the only two tribal colleges currently eligible because their forestry programs are certified. “If more schools aligned their programs in forestry, they could get grants,” Riley said. For more information, read the Native Science Report article.
Leech Lake Tribal College STEM Program Assistant Daniel Devault and student Michelle Anderson. Photo courtesy of Leech Lake Tribal College.
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NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension that solve societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. Keep informed about NIFA, USDA, our land-grant and non-land-grant university partners, and stakeholders with the NIFA Update. Read past issues online, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts or LinkedIn @usda-nifa.
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