Funding boosts climate smart crop research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research has awarded nearly $450,000 to Samuel B. Fernandes, assistant professor of agricultural statistics and quantitative genetics at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Fernandes is the first faculty member from the station to receive the New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award, which supports early-career scientists.
Fernandes is developing advanced genomic prediction models that directly integrate crop growth data. These models will help plant breeders predict how different crop varieties perform under changing weather patterns. Severe weather events threaten harvests and global food security, making accurate predictions critical.
"The current genomic prediction models that plant breeders use to develop crops that can withstand weather stresses struggle to make accurate predictions under scenarios of large genotype-by-environment interactions," said Fernandes, a faculty member in the experiment station's Center for Agricultural Data Analytics.
Elvis Elli, assistant professor of crop physiology, will provide the crop growth models for the project. Both scientists work within the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Department and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
"Dr. Fernandes and his team are emerging leaders in his field," said Paul DeLaune, head of the Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Department. "Using these new selection tools can limit a lot of guesswork and more accurately identify and select the most desirable traits for the most rapid pipeline from selection to field. We are excited to see the fruitful advancements discovered by collaborations between the Fernandes and Elli groups. "
Genotype-by-environment research examines how a plant’s genetic makeup reacts to varied conditions. This work helps breeders find varieties suited to different climates or resilient across multiple environments.
The New Innovator Award allows promising researchers to explore bold solutions without requiring matching funds. Fernandes joins a select group of eleven scientists nationwide whose projects collectively represent nearly $4.4 million in investment over three years.
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