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N.C. PSI News

Strawberries in cartons

Apr 6, 2020

Strawberry Season Arrives Early and in Abundance

With strawberry season set to peak at about the same time as COVID-19, North Carolina producers are taking steps to ensure that consumers have safe access to one of the state’s most popular crops. 

A young boy in a garden planting greens

Apr 1, 2020

Quick and Tasty Edibles for Spring

Now is the perfect time to start a small garden at home. Liz Driscoll, an NC State Extension 4-H specialist, reviews a number of vegetables that families can grow within two months. 

Aerial of tractor spraying fields at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory

Mar 30, 2020

Fertilizer of the Future

An interdisciplinary team led by Katharina Stapelmann is setting out on an ambitious three-year project to completely rethink how nitrogen-based fertilizers are produced and used. From on-farm fertilizer production to on-demand, precision irrigation, their project aims to cut energy use, protect the water supply and increase yields. 

Sweetpotatoes

Feb 17, 2020

GRIP4PSI Seed Grant Winners Announced

Four NC State research teams have been selected as recipients of the next phase of the Game-Changing Research Incentive Program (GRIP), focused on integrated research and outreach addressing global challenges tackled by the N.C. Plant Science Initiative. 

Carlos Iglesias with a wolf sculpture

Feb 17, 2020

Carlos Iglesias: New Director of the Plant Breeding Consortium

In January the Plant Breeding Consortium welcomed Carlos Iglesias as its new director. He comes with decades of experience leading plant breeding programs in the public and private sectors and has worked with many different crops. 

Group of people at a table with sticky notes

Feb 14, 2020

Partner Profile: NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission

For nearly 20 years, the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has been a staple in advancing agriculture in North Carolina—and an important partner of NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 

Dilip Panthee (center), researcher at Mountain Horticultural Research and Extension Center, looks over tomatoes in the farm's greenhouse as students tend to the plants.

Jan 29, 2020

Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Support N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative

In honor of NC State’s past support and continued partnership, the North Carolina Greenhouse Vegetable Growers’ Association has donated $7,000 to the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative. 

Dean Richard Linton holding up a rectangular red box while speaking at a podium

Jan 25, 2020

Launch Director’s Report: January 2020

N.C. PSI Launch Director Steve Briggs provides an update on the Plant Sciences Building, new Initiative programs and more. 

A man gestures as he speaks

Dec 19, 2019

Ambassador Visit Highlights Partnerships Near and Far

As the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative continues to take shape, partnerships between VIB, a Belgian life sciences institute, and NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are growing. 

Microscope image of Dunaliella saltwater algae

Dec 16, 2019

Salty Algae Leads to Sweet Success

NC State University professor Heike Sederoff started studying saltwater algae more than a decade ago as part of a project to use algae to make biofuel. This research led to a recent paper in the journal Nature and a biofuels patent application.