Graduate Student Sustainable Agriculture Projects for FY2024 Announced

GRIFFIN, Georgia – The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) program has announced the funded projects for the 2024 Graduate Student Grants program.

The SSARE Administrative Council recently funded 21 projects totaling $404,423. The Graduate Student Grants program is one of the few sustainable agriculture research funding opportunities open to Master’s and PhD students enrolled at accredited institutions throughout the Southern region.

The projects awarded for FY2024 include:

GS24-297 Developing Soil Carbon Balance (SCB) in a Long-Term Row Crop Production System, $21,991, Texas A&M University -- Kingsville

GS24-298 Harnessing Indigenous Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria for Virus Management and Soil Restoration in Southeastern Crop Systems, $21,387, Auburn University

GS24-299 Covering Ground: Southern Native Leguminous Summer Tepary Beans to Boost Productivity of Organic Spinach, $22,000, Texas A&M University

GS24-300 Developing management strategies for the invasive snail Bulimulus bonariensis using behavioral traits and biological control, $11,810, University of Florida

GS24-301 MoCoBot: Developing a Low-Cost Night-time Mollusk Control Robot for Strawberry Growers, $21,964, Kennesaw State University

GS24-302 Are Cover Crop Combinations Effective at Managing Plant-parasitic Nematodes in Potato Production? $21,830, University of Florida

GS24-303 Leveraging Genomics-enabled Breeding to Improve Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Summer Squash for Southeastern U.S., $21,997, University of Florida

GS24-304 Grounded Values: An Exploration of Soil Ethics in Puerto Rican Coffee Farmers, $22,000, Mississippi State University

GS24-305 The Role of Cropping System Complexity in Soil Organic Matter Formation and Nutrient Availability, $21,142, Virginia Tech

GS24-306 Assessing Leadership Development and Social Network Needs of Small-Scale Farmers in Florida, $20,636, University of Florida

GS24-307 Development of biosurveillance technology for more sustainable disease management strategies for cucurbit downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis), $21,853, NC State University

GS24-308 Harnessing Semiochemicals: An Integrated and Sustainable Approach to Manage Pepper Weevil Infestations, $14,504, University of Florida

GS24-309 Sustainable Intensification of Sugarcane Production: Integrating Molecular, Physiological and Agronomic Practices for Enhanced Tillering and Ratooning, $20,000, University of Florida

GS24-310 Understanding Farmers' Perception of Integrated Crop Livestock System Through Participatory Modeling Approach, $21,998, University of Florida

GS24-311 Empowering African-American Farmers: Addressing Mississippi's “Black Agrarianism” Sustainability Challenges through Voice and Representation, $14,032, Mississippi State University

GS24-312 Development of novel management tool to mitigate spotted wilt disease, $22,000, University of Georgia

GS24-313 Impact of early life experiences on the efficacy and behavior of livestock guardian dogs, $21,997, Texas A&M University

GS24-314 Investigate the ecology and management of blueberry flower thrips in Georgia, $17,891, University of Georgia

GS24-315 Developing Southeastern adapted White Lupin (Lupinus albus) varieties as a multi-purpose cover crop and a grain legume, $21,926, Auburn University

GS24-316 Development of an Autonomous Laser-Based Robotic System for Sustainable Weed Management in Vidalia Onions, $21,465, University of Georgia

Graduate Student Grants are one of six grant opportunities offered by Southern region SARE to support sustainable agriculture research, outreach and education. The Call for Proposals for Graduate Student Grants opens in February. Grant proposals are due in May and funded projects are announced in August.

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Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Southern SARE operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to offer competitive grants to advance sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region.

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