MISSION Research aimed at discovering the genetic basis of yield and resistance to disease and environmental stresses in corn and small grains; development of superior genetic populations in corn and cereal grains; development of new techniques to evaluate, manage, and control disease problems in corn and cereal grains; determination of how atmospheric contaminants and climate change affect plant growth, development, and yield; and detailed investigations of quality constituents of forages and delineation of plant-animal interfaces.
On September 23, it was announced that the "USDA-ARS Ug99 Team to Combat New, Virulent Wheat and Barley Stem Rusts" has been awarded a 2008 USDA Secretary's Honor Award.The award recognizes the team's "rapid mobilization of research expertise and resources to assess vulnerability to Ug99 African wheat stem rust, resulting in early deployment of genetic resources to protect the nation's grain supply."Research plant pathologist Yue Jin, ARS Cereal Disease Research Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, and research leader David Marshall, ARS Plant Science Research Unit, Raleigh, NC, represented the group at the awards ceremony on October 22, 2008 in Washington, DC.The Honor Awards are the most prestigious awards given by USDA.
In Kenya, Dr. David Marshall (above) examines wheat for signs of the stem rust fungus.
ARS scientists share 2008 Secretary's 61st Honor Award for wheat disease research.
Two researchers in N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are members of a team racing against the clock to find solutions that will stop a fungus destroying wheat crops on the other side of the globe.
Dr. David Marshall and Dr. Gina Brown-Guedira with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) and N.C. State’s Crop Science and Plant Pathology departments, are examining wheat grown each year in Kenya in hopes of developing varieties with resistance to a virulent form of wheat stem rust.
