Congratulations to several of our HLA researchers who received AgSEED grants for their projects.
Petrus Langenhoven (PI) and collaborators Kranthi Varala, Amanda Deering, Allison Kingery, and Brian Schilling were awarded an AgSEED grant titled Assessing Scotch Bonnet Pepper Adaptability in the Midwest: A Preliminary Study of Variety Performance and Molecular Characterization. Scotch Bonnet peppers present a high‑value but underdeveloped opportunity for Midwestern agriculture, yet commercialization is constrained by labor‑intensive hand harvesting and mounting climate and supply‑chain risks in traditional Caribbean production systems. This project addresses the critical bottleneck preventing scale by integrating field evaluation, genome‑wide association analyses, and value‑added product development to enable mechanical harvestability and accelerate breeding from multi‑year cycles to single‑generation marker‑assisted selection. Building on successful 2024 trials demonstrating Midwest adaptation and commercial‑level yields, this AgSEED effort will generate foundational data for a competitive USDA NIFA AFRI proposal while ensuring market translation through food safety training and FEMI‑supported product development. Expected outcomes include identification of superior varieties, validated molecular markers, 50 ServSafe‑certified growers, five market‑ready products, and long‑term impacts of 200–400% revenue growth through value‑added processing—positioning Indiana as a leader in specialty pepper production within the $2.7 billion hot sauce market. This grant will support existing research conducted by HLA graduate student Alex Snabes. The project start date is March 1, 2026.
Other HLA researchers awarded grants are:
- Wenjing Guan – Strengthen Purdue Extension’s Ability to Serve Indiana Cut Flower Farmers.
- Ying Li – Mapping Nitrogen-Responsive Gene Networks in Tomato Roots at Single-Cell Resolution.
- Ariana Torres – High Tunnel Investment Economics for Beginning Indiana Specialty Crop Producers: A Climate Adaptive Decision Support Tool.
Agricultural Science and Extension for Economic Development (AgSEED) was established through Crossroads funding from the Indiana Legislature to foster the state’s leadership in plant and animal agriculture and rural growth.