The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces a second major investment into sorghum research. Drought tolerance and nitrogen usage and their microbiological interactions with sorghum plants will be the focus of the projects funded.
The University of California, Berkeley, will lead the $12.3 million effort on drought tolerance, and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, will lead the $13.5 million effort on nitrogen usage.
“The DOE has shown incredible vision in their commitment to sorghum,” said Sorghum Checkoff CEO Tim Lust. “Sorghum producers need innovative and longer-term investments in their crop, and DOE has been a great partner in this.”
This is the second time in the past six months that the DOE has committed to investing in sorghum, bringing the agency’s total commitment to the crop to $55.8 million.
“DOE prides itself on investments that disrupt the technological status quo, and these projects will do that,” Lust said. “They will also add significantly to the body of knowledge in two key areas of sorghum production.”
