Selected Multistate Research
Projects
- NE
009, Conservation and Utilization
of Plant Genetic Resources. Impacts:
1) Preservation of important genetic
resources provides ease-of-access to
the plant germplasm, for example collected
apple germplasm in Turkey, and made seed
crop catalogs available on the Internet.
2) Completed core germplasm collections
for all major seed crops.
- NE-103, Postharvest Physiology of Fruits,
and NE-183, Multidisciplinary Evaluation
of New Apple Cultivars. Impact: NE-103 has
enabled growers and storage facility operators
to make decisions on optimum harvest times
and storage conditions to best maintain
fruit quality and thus increased their
profitability, saved potentially millions
of dollars annually by avoiding chemicals
used in fruit storages, and reduced food
safety risk for storage workers and consumers
through reduced use of chemicals. NE-183
has given consumers a wider selection and
assured high quality apples as a result
of tests being done for apple varieties
originating form North America, Europe,
New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. NE-183 has
provided information to apple producers
where geographically a particular cultivar
or strain is best suited, thus preventing
an enormous investment of money, time,
and effort by each of the apple districts
throughout the United States and Canada.
NE-183 has enabled the U.S. apple industry
to remain competitive with foreign producers,
keeping apple prices low for the benefit
of consumers without sacrificing quality
and profitability.
- NE-140,
Biological improvement of chestnut and
management of chestnut pathogens and pests
has resulted in breeding genetically resistant
progeny to this formidable disease, American
Chestnut Blight. NE-140 has developed a
new application of the emerging biotechnologies
to control a plant pathogen, without resorting
to the use of pesticides.
- W-1185,
Biological Control in Pest Management Systems
of Plants. Impact: Breakthroughs on the
biology of Encarsia, an important group
of whitefly parasitoids, suggest that symbionts
(Wolbachia) and ovicidal behavior on the
part of adult females can influence parasitism
rates. New marking technologies and wind-tunnel
studies reveal detailed information on
the dispersal of whitefly parasitoids important
to understanding the potential for augmentative
biological control.
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