Archive for the ‘Grants’ Category
Travel and study scholarship for students in US universities and colleges
Posted in Education, Fellowships, Grants, Research on August 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
IPM grant awarded to LSU AgCenter
Posted in Education, Grants, IPM on October 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Three-year grant awarded to LSU AgCenter for integrated pest management
By BPT Staff – October 26, 2021 2 0
Writer: V. Todd Miller at vtmiller@agcenter.lsu.edu
The Louisiana agriculture industry is valued at more than $12 billion. But with the state’s subtropical climate comes insects, diseases and weeds, which affect every facet of the business.
A three-year National Institutes of Food and Agriculture grant was recently awarded to a team of LSU AgCenter researchers and extension specialists who are combining their decades of experience to find solutions to a variety of harmful pests.
The Extension Implementation Program grant — valued at $110,000 for the first year and $106,000 each subsequent year, based on meeting certain criteria in year one — was awarded to entomologist Gene Reagan and plant pathologist Boyd Padgett. They are working alongside research associate Forest Huval and graduate assistant Megan Mulcahy. The funds are dedicated to supporting extension programs in the state.
The team has set four objectives for their work: improved monitoring and management of agronomic pests; personnel support for the LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center; development and distribution of education and extension materials; and pesticide recertification, safety and application training.
Huval is tackling objective No. 1 in part by mapping the Mexican rice borer, a scourge of rice and sugarcane production in the state.
“On a weekly or biweekly basis, I’ll go out and check traps we’ve laced with pheromones to lure the insect in,” Huval said. “We’re currently monitoring them in 13 parishes and plan to expand further in the coming months.”
On the pathology front of the first objective, Padgett is studying certain classes of fungicides that were once effective but no longer are. He’s trying to determine where resistant pathogen populations exist.
“Some spores can be windblown from parish to parish,” Padgett said. “But in many cases, they can also be found in infested plant debris.”
The “integrated” part of integrated pest management can be understood by objective No. 2: personnel support for the Plant Diagnostic Center, which processes hundreds of plant samples affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses from Louisiana citizens each year.
Objective No. 3, development and distribution of educational materials, includes the brochures, pamphlets and fact sheets that can be found at each of the AgCenter’s 64 parish offices statewide. But the grant project looks at ways to expand into the realm of electronic media with the potential creation of a dedicated YouTube channel focusing strictly on insects as well as an app where a person can take a photo of a diseased plant, send it in and have the problem identified.
“The idea is all of this would be entirely free to the user and anyone seeking out information,” Reagan said.
When it comes to objective No. 4 — pesticide registration, safety and application training — the researchers all agree that not all insecticides, herbicides and fungicides play well together. More often than not, a combination is needed for maximum crop yield. Padgett said the importance of training in the application of both private and commercial pesticides can’t be ignored.
“When it comes to pesticides, we always go back to drift mitigation,” Padgett said. “If you spray a field or garden and the wind blows it into someone else’s property, no matter how big or small, it can be problematic.”
Where pesticides certainly help control harmful pests, beneficial insects are not always immune. One among many factors that comes into play with pesticide application is ensuring the health of pollinators, which are indispensable to life on the planet. Mulcahy said the public must always be aware of potential dangers.
“You could imagine if you had a business where they produced and sold honey, someone could unknowingly apply a pyrethroid insecticide and wipe out the entire hive,” she said. “So, if we were to break it down, education and outreach on issues like these are really what the goal of the grant is about.”
USDA awards $20 million for citrus greening research
Posted in Grants on February 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Fresh
Plaza
On Monday 8 February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $20.1 million in grants to university researchers for research and extension projects to help citrus producers fight Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease.
This funding is available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Citrus greening has affected more than 75 percent of Florida citrus crops and threatens production all across the United States,” said Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The research and extension projects funded today bring us one step closer to providing growers with real tools to fight this disease, from early detection to creating long-term solutions for the industry, producers and workers.”
The SCRI program addresses critical needs of the specialty crop industry by awarding grants to support research and extension activities that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems.
Since the SCRI CDRE program’s inception in 2014, USDA has granted $43.6 million in research dollars to combat the destructive citrus greening disease. HLB was initially detected in Florida in 2005 and has since affected the vast majority of Florida’s citrus-producing areas. It has also been detected in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas and several residential trees in California. It has also been detected in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 14 states in Mexico. A total of 15 U.S. states or territories are under full or partial quarantine due to the detected presence of the Asian citrus psyllid, a vector for HLB. Those states include Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Fiscal year 2015 grants include:
University of California, Riverside, Calif., $3,990,772
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla., $1,975,000
University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $2,800,000
University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $3,999,508
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ithaca, N.Y., $1,951,763
New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, N.M., $3,320,000
Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $2,115,000
Research at the University of Florida and Washington State University will focus on growing the putative pathogenic bacterium in artificial culture, which will greatly facilitate research efforts to manage HLB. Another project at the University of Florida will develop morpholino-based bactericides to reduce pathogen transmission and eliminate infections in existing trees. Research at the University of California will use virulence proteins from the pathogen to detect its presence before symptoms appear and to develop strategies for creating citrus rootstocks that are immune to HLB. Information about all of the projects funded this year can be found online.
All of the projects funded this year meet the priorities recommended by the Citrus Disease Subcommittee, which is mandated by the Farm Bill to provide an annual consultation with NIFA to recommend priorities, an agenda, and annual budget for the CDRE. The Citrus Disease Subcommittee is part of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board and will meet on February 17-18, 2016, in Riverside, Calif. to discuss and recommend the priorities for the 2016 CDRE awards.
For more information, please visit http://www.usda.gov/farmbill and http://www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts.
Publication date: 2/9/2016
IPM Innovation Lab Call for Concept Notes: Rice IPM in Cambodia
Posted in Grants, tagged Cambodia, Feed the Future IPM Innovation Lab, IPM IL, rice IPM, USAID on April 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Call for Concept Notes:
Innovative scientific research and technology transfer to develop and implement integrated pest management strategies for rice pests in Cambodia
The USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management at Virginia Tech invites the submission of concept notes from U.S. universities, CGIAR institutions, other International Agricultural Research Institutions, and host country institutions to compete to lead the Innovative scientific research and technology transfer to develop and implement integrated pest management strategies for rice pests in Cambodia. Concept notes will be reviewed and may lead to an invitation to submit a full proposal.
U.S. universities as defined under Section 296(d) of Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act, CGIAR, AIRCA, and host country institutions are eligible to apply as the lead institution for a period of 4.25 years. Total funding (single award) is $2.0 million. Collaboration or partnerships with relevant and appropriate host country organizations, other universities, the IARCs, and/or development community partners is encouraged.
Concept notes for Innovative scientific research and technology transfer to develop and implement integrated pest management strategies for rice pests in Cambodia are due May 28, 2015.
For complete information see: http://goo.gl/oJ2kuv
The Virginia Tech IPM Innovation Lab is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development under cooperative agreement AID-OOA-L-15-00001.
Copyright © 2014 Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Integrated Pest Management, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Integrated Pest Management
Office of International Research, education, and Development (OIRED)
526 Prices Fork Rd (0378)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Feed the Future IPM Innovation Lab Call for Concept Notes: Vegetable Crops and Mango IPM in Asia
Posted in Grants, tagged Asia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, mango IPM, Nepal, vegetable IPM, Vietnam on April 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Call for Concept Notes:
Vegetable Crops and Mango IPM in Asia
The USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management at Virginia Tech invites the submission of concept notes from U.S. universities, CGIAR institutions, and host country institutions to compete to lead the Vegetable Crops and Mango IPM in Asia. Concept notes will be reviewed and may lead to an invitation to submit a full proposal.
U.S. universities as defined under Section 296(d) of Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act, CGIAR, and host country institutions are eligible to apply as the lead institution for a period of 4.25 years. Total funding (single award) is $2.75 million. Collaboration or partnerships with relevant and appropriate host country organizations, other universities, the CGIAR system, and/or development community partners is required.
Concept notes for Vegetable Crops and Mango IPM in Asia are due May 15, 2015.
For complete information see: http://goo.gl/oJ2kuv
Call for Concept Notes: Feed the Future IPM Innovation Lab
Posted in Emerging/invasive pests, Grants, IPM, tagged biological control, East Africa, exportable fruits, Feed the Future, invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, USAID, Vietnam, Virginia Tech on December 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »
IPM INNOVATION LAB
Feed the Future Lab for Integrated Pest Management
IPM Innovation Lab Call for Concept Notes
Call for Concept Notes:
1. IPM for exportable fruit crops in Vietnam
The USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management at Virginia Tech invites the submission of concept notes from U.S. universities, CGIAR institutions, and host country institutions to compete to lead the IPM for Exportable Fruit Crops in Vietnam. Concept notes will be reviewed and may lead to an invitation to submit a full proposal.
U.S. universities as defined under Section 296(d) of Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act, CGIAR, and host country institutions are eligible to apply as the lead institution for a period of 4.5 years. Total funding (single award) is $0.8 million. Collaboration or partnerships with relevant and appropriate host country organizations, other universities, the CGIAR system, and/or development community partners is required.
Concept notes for IPM for exportable fruit Crops in Vietnam are due January 30, 2015. For complete information see: http://goo.gl/oJ2kuv
2. Biological control of the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus in East Africa
The USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management at Virginia Tech invites the submission of concept notes from U.S. universities, CGIAR institutions, and host country institutions to compete to lead the Biological control of the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus in East Africa. Concept notes will be reviewed and may lead to an invitation to submit a full proposal.
U.S. universities as defined under Section 296(d) of Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act, CGIAR, and host country institutions are eligible to apply as the lead institution for a period of 4.5 years. Total funding (single award) is $0.75 million. Collaboration or partnerships with relevant and appropriate host country organizations, other universities, the CGIAR system, and/or development community partners is required.
Concept notes for Biological control of the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus in East Africa are due January 30, 2015.
For complete information see: http://goo.gl/oJ2kuv
The Virginia Tech IPM Innovation Lab is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development under cooperative agreement AID-OOA-L-15-00001.
Copyright © 2014 Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Integrated Pest Management, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Integrated Pest Management
Office of International Research, education, and Development (OIRED)
526 Prices Fork Rd (0378)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
USAID awards VA Tech $18 million grant to implement IPM program in Africa and Asia
Posted in Climate change, Emerging/invasive pests, Food Security, Grants, IPM, Pests, Weeds, tagged Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, chickpea, Climate change, Ethiopia, exportable fruits, Feed the Future, grains, horticultural crops, Integrated Pest Management, Kenya, maize, Nepal, pa, rice, Tanzania, USAID, vegetables, Vietnam, Virginia Tech University, wheat on December 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Press Release
Virginia Tech University
Friday, December 19, 2014
Blacksburg, VA, USA
University awarded $18 million to implement integrated pest management program in developing countries
Virginia Tech has won a new $18 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for a research program that will work to raise the standard of living of people around the world through environmentally sound agricultural practices as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative.
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab (formerly Collaborative Research Support Program) for Integrated Pest Management will conduct research and extension activities with farmers, counterpart universities, and host-country government research institutes to implement ecologically sustainable pest and disease control strategies. The predecessor programs to this new award have been led by Virginia Tech University for the past 21 years.
USAID recently announced that Virginia Tech would once again lead the program, a move that represents a vote of confidence in the work that has been ongoing since 1993. The new program will have a strong foundation in areas such as sustainable intensification, ecological service provision, ecological research, and empowerment of women farmers.
“We’ve been forming partnerships, conducting research, and getting to know farmers all over the world for the past two decades,” said Rangaswamy “Muni” Muniappan, who has led the Innovation Lab since 2006. “Our work has shown great results, and we look forward to continuing the fight against hunger.”
The competitively-awarded program will address new and emerging pest problems that plague farmers in the developing world, as well as model and manage the spread of invasive species. Program scientists will also be investigating ways to preserve biodiversity and offset the impacts of climate change on agricultural pests and diseases.
The new Innovation Lab, managed by Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development, will commit its core resources to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania in Africa and to Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Nepal, and Vietnam in Asia.
The Asian arm of the program will include two main sub-programs: one focused on rice in Burma and Cambodia, and a second on horticultural crops in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Vietnam. The Nepal program will additionally address integrated pest management for grains and climate change impacts.
The projects in eastern Africa will focus on innovative crop protection research for increased production and preservation of high-priority Feed the Future staple crops like maize, wheat, and chickpea in Ethiopia; rice and maize in Tanzania; and high-value vegetables in Kenya and Tanzania. The program will also research and implement new strategies to control existing and emergent pest infestations in countries where farmers with limited resources are predicted to be heavily affected by climate variability.
“This program has been working on the ground with poor farmers, making a difference in their lives, and contributing to global food security,” said Guru Ghosh, vice president for Outreach and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. “We’re pleased to have the opportunity to learn from past challenges and build on our successes.”
As in all the previous phases of the program, U.S. researchers will strengthen and forge new partnerships with international colleagues and work directly with farmers. The core tenets will remain unchanged: The program will strive to reduce pesticide use, increase food production, improve health, and make a difference in the lives of poor people in developing countries all over the world.
“A small innovation in a farmer’s life can have a huge impact on their family and on succeeding generations,” said Muniappan.
About Feed the Future
Feed the Future (www.feedthe future.gov) is the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth and trade that increase incomes and reduce hunger, poverty and undernutrition.
About USAID
USAID is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.
About Virginia Tech
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 225 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $496 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
IPPC XVIII, 24-27 August 2015: Call for Abstracts • Funding Opportunities
Posted in Awards, Grants, Meetings, tagged Berlin 2015, IPPC funding opportunities on November 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
For more details see Congress homepage: www.ippc2015.de
REMINDER Call for Abstracts • Funding Opportunities
Dear Sir or Madam,
On behalf of the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) and the local organisations responsible for organising this International Plant Protection Congress series, it is our great pleasure to invite you to the XVIII. International Plant Protection Congress (IPPC) 2015, scheduled from 24-27 August 2015 at Henry Ford Building, Berlin (Germany).
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS • Reminder
We would like to hereby kindly remind you that abstract submission is possible in English and online until 1 February 2015. Please click here to submit your abstract online.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
We are happy to announce that several societies offer travel grants for international conferences such as the IPPC. Please visit our conference homepage www.ippc2015.de to find a small collection of funding opportunities and the corresponding application requirements.
ATTENTION! Please note that the application deadline of the Browning Plant Medicine and Health Travel Award ends on 14 November, 2014 and the application deadline of the Student Educational Award (both awards offered by the American Phytopathological Society) ends on 21 November, 2014.Take advantage of this opportunity and apply now!
If you have any further questions regarding the conference, please contact the organizing agency Conventus via phone 0049 3641 31 16-374 or email ippc@conventus.de.
We are looking forward to receiving your contributions to this unique international and multi disciplinary congress and to welcoming you to the exciting city of Berlin!
With best regards,
Justus Appelt and Claudia Tonn
On behalf of the congress managing director Falko Feldmann
Deutsche Phytomedizinische Gesellschaft e.V. – The German Scientific Society for Plant Protection and Plant Health r.S.
Imprint
Responsible for this content is
Conventus Congressmanagement & Marketing GmbH
Justus Appelt/Claudia Tonn
Carl-Pulfrich-Strasse 1
07745 Jena (Germany)
Fon +49 3641 31 16-374
Fax +49 3641 31 16-243
ippc@conventus.de
http://www.conventus.de
$13.8 million project aims to boost banana production in Uganda and Tanzania
Posted in Grants, Plant Pathogens, tagged banana diseases, Bioversity International, CGIAR, IITA on November 7, 2014| 1 Comment »
FreshPlaza
Millions of smallholder banana farmers in Tanzania and Uganda are set to benefit from a new $13.8 million project to develop and distribute higher-yielding, disease-resistant hybrid banana varieties. The effort is being funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Rony Swennen, a professor at KU Leuven and head of banana breeding at IITA, is leading the project.
Bananas are both a food staple and an economic backbone in East and Central Africa, where over half of all cultivated land is planted with bananas. Uganda and Tanzania produce over 50% of all bananas grown in Africa. The region’s yearly banana crop is valued at $4.3 billion.
However, banana production in Uganda and Tanzania achieves just 9% of its potential yield due to pests and diseases, posing a serious threat to the future sustainability of banana production in the region.
A new five-year project aims to dramatically upscale and speed up existing banana breeding efforts in the two countries. The researchers expect their hybrid banana varieties to have a 30% higher yield and a 50% higher resistance to at least three of the target pests and diseases compared to the current varieties grown by the farmers under the same on-farm conditions. The varieties will also meet over 90% of the quality traits for consumers found in the current cultivars, say the researchers.
“One of the most effective ways to increase production of any crop is to plant high-yielding varieties,” says Professor Rony Swennen. “This new project will expand the on-going breeding efforts in Uganda and Tanzania by developing research capacity and bringing expertise from other countries. Hence farmers will get faster access to high-yielding, high-resistance hybrids that are at the same time satisfactory to the consumer.”
The project builds on a very successful collaboration between IITA and Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), which culminated in the development of the first 26 high-yielding, and disease-resistant hybrid varieties, called NARITA varieties.
The project will also support the on-farm testing of these hybrids in Uganda and Tanzania, will improve the technical capacity of the breeding programmes in the region, will strengthen partnerships with farmers, and will develop local human capacity by supporting 8 PhD projects and 5 MSc research projects.
The IITA, Bioversity International and the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas are also providing substantial co-financing.
For more information:
Rony Swennen
KU Leuven
Tel: +32 16 32 14 20
Email: Rony.Swennen@biw.kuleuven.be
Hawaii: $700K to combat invsive coffee berry borer
Posted in Emerging/invasive pests, Grants, Insects, IPM on May 6, 2014| 1 Comment »
KITV4 ABC
kitv.com
Hawaii given $700K to combat coffee berry borer
Another $300K goes to Puerto Rico to fight invasive beetle
Published 1:49 PM HST May 05, 2014
http://www.kitv.com/news/hawaii-given-700k-to-combat-coffee-berry-borer/25825180
WASHINGTON —Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and the United States Department of Agriculture announced Monday a total of $1 million to help combat the coffee berry borer that has been ravaging Big Island coffee farms for almost four years.
The funding will be distributed through the Integrated Pest Management Program at USDA and be divided between Hawaii ($700,000) and Puerto Rico ($300,000). The program is a scientifically-based approach to fighting invasive species.
“I wrote directly to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this year to urge continued funding to fight the coffee berry borer and am very pleased that USDA recognizes the threat of this highly destructive invasive species to Hawaii’s farms and economy,” said Hirono. “I’ve met and listened to farmers whose crops are being impacted by this alien pest species. Coffee is an important agriculture crop and export for our state – we produce some of the world’s best beans – and it is crucial that we provide the resources our farmers need.”
“The Coffee Berry Borer has destroyed more than $9 million worth of our world-renowned coffee since 2010, leaving many small businesses and families in our rural communities devastated. Coffee farms are a major pillar in our rural Hawai’i Island communities, and a majority are family-owned and operated,” said Gabbard. “They provide jobs on farms and at processing plants, purchase equipment, fertilizers, and other hardware necessary to bring the famous Kona and Ka’u coffee to consumers worldwide. This $700,000 award to further fund the Coffee Plant Health Initiative program in Hawai’i will help researchers combat this and other new invasive pests, and will also help to restore our farmers’ ability to grow and market world-class coffee, which is the only domestically grown coffee our country has to offer.”
Hawaii Island is home to more than 700 small coffee farms. In 2011, coffee farmers in Hawaii produced more than 8 million pounds of coffee, valued at more than $30 million.
The borer is an insect native to Central Africa that lives, feeds and reproduces in both immature and mature coffee berries. This damage can have a significant negative impact on the quality and quantity of coffee crop yields.
As a direct result of the coffee berry borer, many farmers in 2012 have expressed concerns that their yields were in jeopardy. The Agricultural Research Service commenced an integrated pest management program in 2013 to study and develop a management plan for the coffee berry borer.
Click here to see more photos of the coffee berry borer.
Read more: http://www.kitv.com/news/hawaii-given-700k-to-combat-coffee-berry-borer/25825180#ixzz30uJEmVpU
Read more: http://www.kitv.com/news/hawaii-given-700k-to-combat-coffee-berry-borer/25825180#ixzz30uHhpLap
USDA Allocates $48 Million for Invasive Pest Control Projects
Posted in Emerging/invasive pests, Grants on April 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The Asian Longhorned Beetle is among pests USDA considers invasive. (R. Anson Eaglin, USDA-APHIS)
USDA Secretary Vilsack says farm bill allocations can help mitigate pest issues; ensure food security
Published on: Apr 3, 2014
Scientists estimate the total economic cost of all invasive species to be approximately $120 billion annually, leading the USDA on Thursday to pledge $48.1 million as approved in the 2014 Farm Bill to projects aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of invasive pests.
USDA views the funding as an opportunity to control damage and ensure food security.
“The funds USDA is making available today will help partners and stakeholders develop strategies, products and treatments to safeguard our farms and natural resources from invasive threats,” Vilsack explained in a statement.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sought project suggestions from states and U.S. territories, universities, federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private companies and tribal organizations that would provide a direct impact in managing pests and diseases, as well as disaster prevention, selecting 383 projects in 49 states, Guam and Puerto Rico for funding.
A sampling of the funded projects include:
• $2 million for protection against exotic fruit flies in California;
• $270,907 to survey and analyze adult honey bee samples collected from apiaries across multiple U.S states and Puerto Rico for pests and diseases, such as the Varroa virus;
• $290,000 to the Nez Perce Tribe Bio-control Project involving noxious/invasive weed survey and control activities;
• $224,894 for the National Plant Board to develop a harmonized national systems approach to nursery certification that enhances existing state programs to reduce the risk of plant pests in nursery stock
Prospective projects were evaluated by USDA based on several criteria, including the projects’ efforts in: enhancing plant pest/disease analysis and survey; targeting domestic inspection activities at vulnerable points in the safeguarding continuum; enhancing and strengthening pest identification and technology; safeguarding nursery production; enhancing mitigation capabilities; conducting outreach and education about these issues.
The teams also evaluated submissions based on expected impacts of the project, the technical approach, and how submissions would complement ongoing USDA programs and other previously funded projects funded under the 2008 Farm Bill.
The USDA also on Thursday declared April as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month, while the Weed Science Society of America earlier this year championed a National Invasive Species Awareness week in February.
Global Plant Protection News 
