WVSU RECEIVES GRANT West Virginia State Receives $1.6 Million Agricultural Grant
Reported by: Jeff Morris
Web Producer: Jeff Morris
Reported: Sep. 27, 2012 2:26 PM EDT
Eyewitness News Photo
Institute
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
West Virginia State University will receive research grant funds totaling more than $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the school announced.
It is the largest amount the university has received in one funding cycle from the competitive grant program. No school could receive more than 10 percent of the allotted $18 million in available funding, according to USDA stipulations.
“This is great news and speaks volumes to the fact that we have talented research and teaching faculty at the university,” said Orlando McMeans, vice president for research and public service.
West Virginia State said the money funds seven proposed research projects, including joint initiatives with Alcorn State University in Mississippi and Southern University in Louisiana.
Three of the projects focus on research to improve agriculture production in West Virginia. While the scope of each project differs, the work will focus on plant breeding techniques meant to increase disease resistance in crops such as tomatoes and melons; understanding reproductive barriers to improve cultivated tomatoes; and studying the health benefits of squash and pumpkins, including their potential as anti-cancer and anti-diabetic agents.
Other projects deal with the study of hibiscus flowers and the application of genomic technologies for Appalachian mine site reclamation.
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Jeff Morris
