The state of Missouri is known as part of the Corn Belt, but it’s also known for another major crop — soybeans. The University of Missouri at Columbia boasts one of the top soybean research programs in the country, and the key to success in the realm of soybean is attracting bright young researchers to the field.
Thanks to a slate of forward-thinking sponsors, the Borlaug Scholarship is helping with that. The Borlaug scholarship program strengthens the plant breeding profession by helping support attendance of future leaders at the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) annual meeting.
Greg Luce, director of research at Missouri Soybeans which sponsors the Borlaug scholarship, says soybeans are the top crop in Missouri and most economical crop to be grown in the state, and as such have such tremendous value. Opportunities in the sector are many.
“One of the challenges a soybean breeder may face is deciding just what to work on. We have much more frequent rainfalls, and water saturated conditions. Oftentimes soybeans are faced with extreme wet conditions and flooding. And then maybe in that same season, there could be drought. So, resilience to abiotic stresses, both drought and floods are things that I think going forward will be very important,” he says.
“But perhaps the number one thing breeders have the opportunity to work on are compositional traits. Soybean has so much potential as a protein source.”
The sheer amount of opportunity present in the field is why Missouri Soybeans sponsors the Borlaug Scholarship, he adds.
“We need young people to get into agriculture in general and into the soybean breeding arena. Students I know who have been through the program all speak very highly of it. We’re happy to sponsor this program.”
The NAPB annual meeting is a large annual conference that brings together a who’s who of the plant breeding world. Each year, a variety of sponsors help bring a contingent of young Borlaug Scholars to the conference where they present their work and get a better idea of what the plant breeding profession is all about.
Caio Canella, originally from Brazil, is a soybean researcher at the University of Missouri. He’s also a former Borlaug Scholar. For him, the scholarship served as a gateway to new opportunities in soybean research and helped him start his career.
“It definitely supports the future generations of plant breeders just coming up. I’m very fortunate to be part of that,” Canella says. He brought the scholarship to the attention of Missouri Soybeans and they jumped on it.
“With the Borlaug scholarship, students have an opportunity to work with a mentor and they have an opportunity to meet people in different areas that are working on different projects. They get that scope of what’s going on in the industry and it’s a great opportunity to network. It’s a great way to start a career in the plant breeding area for a student to have that experience,” Luce adds.
For info on the Borlaug Scholarship visit the NAPB website.
For more info visit:
Why Mentoring the Young Stars of Plant Science is About More Than Just Plant Breeding
Get Involved in Mentoring the Next Generation of Plant Breeders
