Year Awarded 2023
FFAR award amount $750,000
Total award amount $1,922,439
Location Clemson, SC
Matching Funders Clemson University, Cotton, Inc., Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Grantee Institution Clemson University
Cotton farmers worldwide have long witnessed Fusarium wilt (FOV), a fungal disease that causes rapid wilting and sudden death of cotton plants in nearly all cotton growing regions of the world. FOV cannot be eradicated through biological or chemical treatments, threatening cotton production and farmers’ livelihoods. Clemson researchers are developing germplasm to combat Fusarium wilt, specifically wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum vasinfectum race 4 (FOV4), which infects Upland cotton. They are also collaborating with Australian scientists and using new breeding tools to determine if recently discovered FOV4 resistance genes in U.S. cotton can also provide resistance in Australian cotton.