20235118141319
Project Grant
Overview
Grant Description
In the last 20 years, epidemics caused by fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora caused losses of over $22 million per year in pear and apple production. If flowers aren't protected by spray applied antibiotics, blossom blight infections allow shoot blight infections with both leading to development of destructive fire blight cankers.
Cankers are infected zones on wood bark which can kill more than 50% of trees in high density orchards by causing tree stem girdling. To control fire blight, growers apply copper in spring that is not always effective, antibiotics which can lead to resistance, biorational materials with inconsistent efficacy, and labor-intensive pruning removal of symptoms.
This project's goals are to develop camera-robot system for canker mapping to speed up their manual pruning removal, determine biology and microbiome of cankers, screen for new biocontrol yeasts, determine efficacy of improved dormant copper and plant activator materials targeting canker viability, develop new antibiofilm enzymes and yeasts for blossom and shoot blight control, and conduct economic analyses of new control options resulting from project research objectives and research-driven results.
Our cross-disciplinary team will use the latest technologies in robot engineering, genomics, transcriptomics, biochemistry, phyto biome, plant pathology and economics to provide growers with critically needed effective control options for all fire blight stages: cankers, blossom blight and shoot blight.
To disseminate and implement new knowledge on E. amylovora and comprehensive fire blight management deliverables, our project team will use modern bilingual extension programming and in-depth impact analyses encompassing English and Spanish speaking agricultural communities.
Cankers are infected zones on wood bark which can kill more than 50% of trees in high density orchards by causing tree stem girdling. To control fire blight, growers apply copper in spring that is not always effective, antibiotics which can lead to resistance, biorational materials with inconsistent efficacy, and labor-intensive pruning removal of symptoms.
This project's goals are to develop camera-robot system for canker mapping to speed up their manual pruning removal, determine biology and microbiome of cankers, screen for new biocontrol yeasts, determine efficacy of improved dormant copper and plant activator materials targeting canker viability, develop new antibiofilm enzymes and yeasts for blossom and shoot blight control, and conduct economic analyses of new control options resulting from project research objectives and research-driven results.
Our cross-disciplinary team will use the latest technologies in robot engineering, genomics, transcriptomics, biochemistry, phyto biome, plant pathology and economics to provide growers with critically needed effective control options for all fire blight stages: cankers, blossom blight and shoot blight.
To disseminate and implement new knowledge on E. amylovora and comprehensive fire blight management deliverables, our project team will use modern bilingual extension programming and in-depth impact analyses encompassing English and Spanish speaking agricultural communities.
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Blacksburg,
Virginia
24061-6100
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
USDA-NIFA-SCRI-009765
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University was awarded
Effective Control Options Fire Blight: Cankers Blossom Blight Shoot Blight
Project Grant 20235118141319
worth $5,717,639
from the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability in September 2023 with work to be completed primarily in Blacksburg Virginia United States.
The grant
has a duration of 4 years and
was awarded through assistance program 10.309 Specialty Crop Research Initiative.
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 9/21/23
Period of Performance
9/15/23
Start Date
9/14/27
End Date
Funding Split
$5.7M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$5.7M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Subgrant Awards
Disclosed subgrants for 20235118141319
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
20235118141319
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Public/State Controlled Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
12348T INSTITUTE OF FOOD PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABILITY (IFPS)
Funding Office
12348T INSTITUTE OF FOOD PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABILITY (IFPS)
Awardee UEI
QDE5UHE5XD16
Awardee CAGE
4B976
Performance District
VA-09
Senators
Mark Warner
Timothy Kaine
Timothy Kaine
Modified: 9/21/23