Our
mission is to improve quality and reduce costs of soybean and alfalfa production.
This is being accomplished by 1) enhancing nodulation, enhancing the predictability
and efficiency of symbiotic nitrogen fixation via the use of unique plant germplasm
in combination with selected genetically engineered strains of rhizobia; 2)
increasing the knowledge of the genetics, cytogenetics, molecular biology and
breeding procedures of soybean and alfalfa in order to improve pest resistance,
tolerance to hostile environnments, yield and quality characteristics; 3) studying
diseases and disease complexes as they affect alfalfa including the pathogenicity
of the casual organism, the disease cycle, the host pathogen interactions, and
sources of host resistance; 4) developing integrated management programs for
insect pests affecting the productivity of alfalfa and soybeans including new
sources of plant resistance; 5) studying the physiological and genotypic regulation
of nitrogen and carbon incorporation into seed protein.
