Researchers funded for studying diseases-resistant grapes

Added on 10 October 2022

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Researchers funded for studying diseases-resistant grapes

A University of Minnesota-led team of researchers received the first round of funding from a $10 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to follow up on their work with VitisGen2, a multi-disciplinary, collaborative project focused on cultivating disease-resistant grapes that can be grown sustainably with reduced pesticide and fossil fuel use.

The team is made up of researchers from 13 different institutions across the country and is led by Matthew Clark, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Horticultural Science in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and an Extension horticulture specialist. The project was built with strong industry support and guidance, especially from the National Grape Research Alliance, which has been involved in this research from its initiation with the first VitisGen project in 2012.

This funding will allow researchers to build upon VitisGen and VitisGen2 to bring the work across the finish line. They plan to advance grape breeding by using the latest technologies to identify and test gene candidates, deliver advanced information including computer-vision phenotyping, artificial intelligence, and DNA markers to all U.S. grape breeders, develop disease-control programs, and train vineyard managers and Extension personnel across the U.S. in their use.

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Photo created by jose alfonso sierra - Unsplash