In 2016, Missouri based scientists were awarded $4.6 million to study techniques to adapt crops for climate change. In August, the researchers completed the first of five years of the project and met to discuss it.

The project is funded by The National Science Foundation, the largest government agency that supports basic and applied research in the United States.

Progress report

Dr. Laszlo Kovacs, professor of biology, is part of this team of scientists. Their goal is to understand how traits of native North American grapevines can be harnessed to adapt cultivated grapes to a changing climate. The primary focus is on the impact of the root-system on the aerial (fruit-bearing) part of the plant in grafted grapevines

Kovacs says that the recent projects meeting was productive; the accomplishments of the past year helped the team chart the course for the next four years.