HAWAI‘I: Consortium receives $6M USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant
A four-year $6M USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant has been issued to support research into addressing the coffee leaf rust (CLR) disease that is threatening coffee farmers in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. This grant will support a consortium led by the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council.The impact of this research, however, is expected to extend beyond US farmers to help the global coffee community combat CLR.
The five main objectives of the grant include field trials of rust-resistant varieties, surveying spread and identifying field management options for farmers to use to protect existing coffee trees, identifying fungicides or biological control methods to combat CLR, and economic analyses of US-grown coffee from both a growing and a selling perspective.
Lastly, it will also expand genomic research to assist the global coffee industry in understanding and combating the fungus.