Multi-state team awarded $5M research grant

A team of LSU AgCenter researchers, along with those from four other universities, have been awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant of more than $5 million to develop sweet potato varieties resistant to the invasive guava root-knot nematode.
The AgCenter team, spearheaded by nematologist Tristan Watson, received a sub-grant for $990,337 to support research on sweet potato breeding and characterization of resistance mechanisms and associated genes as well as extension of research findings to regional and national stakeholders. The funds were awarded as part of the NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative.