Nine NCSU research projects awarded funding

RALEIGH – Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced today that nine research projects that focus on helping specialty crop growers manage disease and adverse weather conditions, and that look at new plant varieties that could grow better in the state were awarded over $1.16 million in specialty crop block grant funding.

“Specialty crops offer great opportunities for North Carolina farmers and these projects have the potential to lead to better production recommendations for farmers and ultimately increased production,” Troxler said. “Projects this year involve strawberries, pumpkins, native plants, blackberries, wine grapes, vegetable crops and Christmas trees and all are spearheaded by N.C. State University researchers.”

NCDA&CS administers the statewide program with project funding coming from the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

North Carolina’s specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, turfgrass and sod, Christmas trees and nursery and greenhouse crops. Grant proposals were submitted by nonprofit organizations, commodity groups, government agencies and universities.

Following are 2024 grant recipients and projects through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant funds:

 N.C. State University (multiple grants) –

o  Strawberry Cultivar Evaluation in NC, $74,800;

o  Integrated Pest Management for Native Plant Production, $149,192.10;

o  Advancing Pumpkin Production in North Carolina, $131,535.56;

o  Management of Fusarium Wilt of Blackberry, $149,607;

o  Grapevine Pierce’s Disease Management in NC, $78,703;

o  Unearth Pathogenic Nematode Prevalence on Vegetables, $154,497.90;

o  Management of Western Flower Thrips, $150,000;

o  Improved blackberry resilience to freeze injury, $133,890.81;

o  Genomic Tools for Christmas Tree Health, $140,228.83.

For the latest information on the N.C. specialty crops program, go to https://ncspecialtycrops.com/apply/.