Jenny Kao-Kniffin, assistant professor in the Horticulture Section, and Antonio DiTommaso, professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Section, received a $272,078 USDA grant to develop new ways to uncover novel compounds isolated from soil microorganisms that could be effective in weed management.
Using DNA analysis of soil to isolate bacteria that produce weed-suppressing compounds, the researchers hope to grow microbes and isolate the beneficial compounds they make. Kao-Kniffin and DiTommaso may then design experiments to understand how such compounds might be applied in agriculture to suppress weeds. The project is a response to growing concern about herbicide resistance in cropping systems.
The grant, announced June 2, were part of $14.5 million in funds handed out through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Foundation program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and administered by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Four Cornell projects received $1.65 million from USDA [Cornell Chronicle 2016-06-09].