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Microbial partners may help plants respond to higher temperatures

N.C. PSI News

Person demonstrates monitoring equipment near a farm canal. The farmer is nearby.

Aug 20, 2026

New App To Help Farmers Act Against Flooding

A new web-based app is in the works that will help farmers take action to protect crops, livestock and farm machinery when a storm or flooding event is forecasted. 
Seven people pose in a research lab

Aug 18, 2026

Accelerating Agtech Solutions

The N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative is a key player in a global technology validation platform designed to accelerate agricultural technology startup companies. 
Reid Barnett examines plants growing in a science lab.

Aug 17, 2026

Seed2Grow Spotlight: Ph.D. Student Turning Pollution Into Possibility

NC State Ph.D. student Reid Barnett is developing floating islands made of fabric specially designed to grow plants. The plants capture excess nitrogen and phosphorus that can pollute water, so they can be turned into soil amendments and other valuable products. 
At a university field lab, with a tractor in the background, a man speaks to a group

Aug 7, 2026

Farmer-Centered AI in Agriculture: Making the Juice Worth the Squeeze

Producers, innovators and investors share insights on responsible artificial intelligence for agriculture. 
Two people standing side by side next to a multipanel outdoor trellis made of bright white plastic.

Jul 24, 2026

Installation Bridges Playful, Eye-Catching Art With Agricultural Sciences

You’ve heard of the butterfly effect, the idea that a seemingly small event like a butterfly flapping its wings can have large consequences thousands of miles away. NC State designers hope the installation they call The Butterfly Effect have its own rippling influence. 
An open building space with people at desks and a whiteboard

Jul 24, 2026

N.C. PSI Welcomes Oil-Dri to its Innovation Hub

The global manufacturer and supplier of sorbent products becomes the 21st member of the Innovation Hub in NC State University’s Plant Sciences Building. 
Student presents on a TEDxNCState stage, with a plant image projected behind her.

Jul 24, 2026

NC State Grad Student Takes 3D Printed Plants to Center Stage

Stephanie Stewart, a Ph.D. student in biomathematics, shares fresh perspectives from the frontlines of research to advance 3D bioprinting of plants. 
Two people smiling as they pose

Jul 7, 2026

Dan and Jean Eddleman: Turning Roadblocks Into Stepping Stones

Dan, a College of Engineering alumnus, and Jean, a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumna, want to ‘pay it forward.’ The couple’s three-part planned gift, including the first such gift to the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative, will help support NC State University and its students for years to come. 
Man holds up three buckets full of ripe strawberries

Jul 1, 2026

NC State Wages Multi-Front Fight Against Strawberry Disease

N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative affiliates, NC State Extension specialists and other researchers are working on multiple fronts in the fight against a new disease taking a big bite out of North Carolina’s strawberry producers’ livelihoods. 

Jun 18, 2026

Microbial partners may help plants respond to higher temperatures

New research suggests the microbiome near the surface of a plant’s roots, known as the rhizosphere microbiome, may play a role in helping crops respond to heat stress. The research team includes three N.C. PSI faculty affiliates: Alex Woodley, Mallory Choudoir and Joe Gage.