Oct 20, 2016

North Dakota potato research grants top $480,000

Twenty-seven grants totaling over $2.3 million were recently awarded to promote the development, cultivation, production and sales of specialty crops in North Dakota. North Dakota State University received six grants worth more than $912,000 for potato related research.

“North Dakota is already a leading producer of several specialty crops, such as dry edible beans, dry peas, potatoes and lentils,” said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. “As our farmers seek to diversify their production, these grants help provide important information through specialty crop research, education and export opportunities.

The Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $2,375,085.11 for the 2016 grants. Last year, North Dakota received $2,405,432.62. The grants are distributed based on a formula that takes into account specialty crop acreage and production value.

Specialty crops are defined in law as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops, including floriculture.”

Below is a list of grants awarded to North Dakota State University:

• $94,957 for sustainability and utility of verticillium wilt resistance in French fry potato cultivars.
• $137,131 for development of potato blight application for sustainable potato production.
• $70,532 to determine the effect of glyphosate and dicamba drift on yield and seed quality of potatoes, field peas, lentils, dry beans and edamame.
• $47,880 for development of a mitigation strategy to soft rotting pathogens affecting seed potato production.
• $48,017 to assess the potential for remote sensing of potato virus Y in seed fields-nutritional deficit.
• $81,740 to improve potato tuber uniformity.

A full list of grant recipients is available on the North Dakota Department of Agriculture website.

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) received 35 applications, which were reviewed and scored by a select committee and approved by Goehring. Of the 35 applications, 27 were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for final approval.

NDDA received $185,227.12 to administer the specialty crop block grant.