Kansas State University announced its Climate Resilient Cereals Innovation Lab is back in action after a pause in federal support, thanks to funding that resumed earlier this month.
The lab’s mission is bold: help double the global food supply by 2050 by improving yields and resilience in four key cereal crops — sorghum, millet, wheat and rice. All are grown in the U.S., and more than half of the nation’s sorghum crop is grown in Kansas.
“K-State’s innovation lab is helping bolster American agriculture by creating crops that are resistant to drought and disease,” said U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran in a K-State news release. “I appreciate Secretary Rubio for recognizing the importance of the work being done at Kansas State University and supporting the continuation of this program. Kansans, Americans and individuals around the world face a brighter future due to the work being done at K-State to help feed the world.”
The lab brings together U.S. and international partners to improve crop breeding for resistance to heat, drought, insects and disease — challenges that are already putting pressure on farmers.
“This work is vital to the success of American and international agricultural production,” said Timothy Dalton, professor of agricultural economics and interim director of the lab. “The work we are doing ultimately results in grains that are more tolerant to real-world challenges farmers are facing now.”
To do this, researchers use state-of-the-art tools such as uncrewed aerial drone phenotyping, next-gen DNA sequencing, genotyping, AI-assisted crop modeling and speed breeding. International partnerships make it possible to test crops in environments that mirror current and future U.S. growing conditions.
In Asia, the team is developing rice varieties resistant to rice blast, a fungal disease that threatens southern U.S. fields. Wheat and sorghum trials are underway in extreme environments near the Sahara Desert to help boost tolerance to heat and drought.
“We’re searching for scientific advances to make crops stronger and food production more reliable and safer,” Dalton said. “This makes farmers here in Kansas and in partner nations more prosperous and ready to meet global food needs far into the future.”
The lab’s collaborators include the University of Florida, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, Purdue University, Cornell University, Louisiana State University, Clemson University and national research institutions in Senegal, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
“Thank you to Senator Moran and his team for their dedicated efforts in supporting and ensuring the continuation of this important research at Kansas State University,” said Ernie Minton, Eldon Gideon dean of the College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension. “Advancing agricultural innovation and ensuring resilient crop production are critical priorities for global food and national security.”
