The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is the new home for Breeding Insight, a federally funded program supporting public plant breeding efforts.
Breeding Insight, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, supports public breeding efforts via more than 61 programs at the USDA as well as university-based programs across the country.
Scientists at Breeding Insight use advanced prediction methods to dramatically accelerate the development of new pest- and disease-free crops that are more robust and nutritious. The prediction methods include high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and custom software applications. The scientists also bring expertise to ornamental crops that support healthy ecosystems as well as animal breeding programs.
UF/IFAS leader Scott Angle said feeding the world will require that new plant varieties be developed at a much more rapid pace. “We are confident that Breeding Insight and UF/IFAS combined will be an important part of that effort,” he added.
Among the nearly 50 species supported by Breeding Insight, 10 are among the top agricultural products for Florida — blueberry, alfalfa, strawberry, watermelon, lettuce, cucumber, sugarcane, citrus, potato and commercial beekeeping. In the future, additional Florida crops can be supported by the program.
In addition to helping to breed crops that resist emerging pests and diseases, Breeding Insight scientists work to improve:
- Plant varieties to be more easily harvested through automation, saving labor and costs
- Shelf life of fruits, nuts and vegetables
- Crops with long growing cycles with more efficiency, like pine and fruit trees
Damian Adams, UF/IFAS associate dean for research, will manage the Breeding Insight program. He said the shift of the program to UF/IFAS “solidifies UF as the world’s best plant breeding program and brings additional seed funding and data analytic resources to UF/IFAS plant breeders. It also positions us to better support the agriculture industry in Florida through accelerated precision-breeding efforts.”
Several universities vied to be Breeding Insight’s new home. Adams said UF/IFAS was chosen because of the strength of its agricultural programs, stakeholder standing and UF’s world-class computing infrastructure, including HiPerGator.
“The UF/IFAS world-class plant breeding program and nearly 300 Florida-produced commodities make this the perfect home for the program,” Angle added.
Source: UF/IFAS
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