Dr. Chin-Feng Hwang, associate professor in the Darr School of Agriculture at Missouri State University, attended and presented at the annual Project Director meeting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Plant Biology and Plant Breeding programs May 14-15 at USDA-NIFA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“The purpose of the Project Director meeting is to promote sharing of information and to foster collaborative activities. This event provided a rare and excellent opportunity for scientists funded by the AFRI competitive grant programs across the United States working on various crops to discuss and address the needs for future breeding programs,” said Hwang.

Hwang presented a talk entitled “Genome-enabled Genetic Study of Grape Botrytis Bunch Rot Resistance.” The overall goals of this proposed project are to discover genetic markers tightly linked to Botrytis bunch rot resistance, accelerate breeding cycles for new cultivar releases, train a new generation of plant breeders and attract students to agricultural sciences.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that USDA provided to execute this Vitis aestivalis-derived Norton grape breeding research at the State Fruit Experiment Station on the Mountain Grove campus of Missouri State University,” added Hwang.

For more information about USDA-NIFA-AFRI grant funding programs, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/afri.html or contact Hwang at (417) 547-7538.