CORVALLIS, Ore. - Grants totaling nearly $400,000 have been awarded to 33 new projects through the Agricultural Research Foundation's 2009-11 competitive grant program.

The grants provide seed funding to help Oregon State University scientists launch new research projects and attract additional funding from other sources, according to Dorothy Beaton, executive director of the foundation.

"It is an important part of the foundation's ongoing partnership with the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences," she said.

Grants selected this year for funding, ranging from $7,730 to $12,500, include:
• Engineering chromosomes resistant to fungal diseases of wheat; • Using a brood pheromone to increase honey bee colony growth; • Evaluating remote sensing to predict nitrogen application rates; • Studying field corn susceptibility to Fusarium Crown and Stalk Node rot; • Influence of riparian buffers on nitrogen in agricultural runoff.

Earlier this year, the Agricultural Research Foundation celebrated its 75th anniversary by awarding two additional special grants, each worth $100,000, to support research of native bee pollinators and development of a bio-based herbicide.

For a complete list of researchers and projects funded by the foundation for 2009-11, go online at: http://agresearchfoundation.oregonstate.edu

The Agricultural Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation and affiliate of OSU. The board of directors is made up of representatives of numerous segments of Oregon's agriculture industry.

Source: 

Dorothy Beaton, 541-737-3228

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