National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is requesting applications for the Special Research Grants Program–Potato Research (Potato Research) fiscal year (FY) 2023 to support breeding research that leads to the development and commercial use of superior performing potato varieties that address significant challenges to the U.S. potato industry.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/18/2023
Size of the Grant: $950,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
The purpose of the special grant program is conducting research, extension, or education activities to facilitate or expand promising breakthroughs in areas of the food and agricultural sciences of importance to the United States. These programs promote excellence in research, extension, or education on a regional and national level; promote the development of regional research centers; promote the research partnership between the Department of Agriculture, colleges and universities, research foundations, and State agricultural experiment stations for regional research efforts; and facilitate coordination and cooperation of research, extension, or education among States through regional grants.
Potato Research, Assistance Listing 10.200, supports regional potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) research and extension that focuses on the development, testing, and release of superior commercial potato varieties using classical breeding and advanced molecular and biotechnological approaches. The development and utilization of high-throughput methods is highly encouraged that address significant or emergent issues of importance to the U.S. potato industry. Aspects of evaluation, screening, and testing must support commercial variety development and release of superior materials to commercial producers as soon as possible.
Potato Research is aligned with the following USDA Strategic Goals through funding fundamental and applied research to meet:
- Strategic Goal 1: Combat Climate Change to Support America’s Working Lands, Natural Resources and Communities.
- Strategic Goal 2: Ensure America’s Agricultural System is Equitable, Resilient, and Prosperous.
- Strategic Goal 3: Foster an Equitable and Competitive Marketplace for All Agricultural Producers.
- Strategic Goal 4: Make Safe, Nutritious Food Available to All Americans.
NIFA is soliciting applications for FY 2023 Potato Research program that address one or more of the following research areas that will produce outcomes important to the U.S. potato industry:
- Develop superior performing varieties with resistance to established and emerging pests and diseases including but not limited to potato virus Y, damaging nematodes, the late and early blight pathogen, white mold, powdery scab, storage rot diseases, PMTV, and Dickeya that limit sustained production, profitability, and market competitiveness;
- Identify and incorporate traits into varieties for improved water and nutrient use efficiency that result in decreased demand for irrigation water and fertilizer applications, while maintaining desired yield and end market quality;
- Identify and develop desirable yield, storability, consumer, and other value-added quality traits for use in new potato varieties; or
- Develop high throughput methods for rapidly selecting traits, specifically for new superior-performing varieties targeted for specific markets. The goals of this program imply that successful proposals will be associated with practicing, variety-releasing breeding programs. Fundamental science discovery projects that are not currently associated with a potato breeding program are not appropriate for this grant program.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $3,699,443
- Award Ceiling: $950,000
- Award Floor: $900,000
Grant Duration
24 Months
Eligibility Criteria
Applications may only be submitted by State agricultural experiment stations, land-grant colleges and universities, research foundations established by land-grant colleges and universities, colleges and universities receiving funds under the 1962 McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Act, Pub. L. 87-778, as amended (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.), and accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine for the purpose of facilitating or expanding ongoing State-Federal food and agricultural research, extension, or education programs. Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. Failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the time of application deadline may result in the application being excluded from consideration or, even though an application may be reviewed, will preclude NIFA from making an award.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
