NCRPIS ANNUAL REPORT - 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. PROJECT TITLE ................................................................................................................................. 1 II. COOPERATING AGENCIES AND PRINCIPAL LEADERS .............................................................. 1 III. PROGRESS OF WORK AND PRINCIPAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS .................................................. 2 IV. PROGRESS IN GERMPLASM AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATION ........................................................................................................................................ 4 V. IMPACTS OF GERMPLASM USE BY NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RESEARCHERS ........... 10 VI. SUPPORT TEAM REPORTS ............................................................................................................. 13 A. FARM ............................................................................................................................................. 13 B. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ........................................................... 14 C. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT-GERMPLASM COLLECTIONS ............................................................ 16 D. ORDER PROCESSING ....................................................................................................................... 17 E. SEED STORAGE .............................................................................................................................. 23 F. GERMINATION ................................................................................................................................ 24 VII. CURATORIAL AND SCIENTIFIC TEAM REPORTS ...................................................................... 26 A. CONTROLLED INSECT POLLINATION SERVICE PROGRAM ............................................................... 26 B. PLANT PATHOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 35 C. AMARANTH .................................................................................................................................... 41 D. HORTICULTURE.............................................................................................................................. 49 E. MAIZE CURATION ........................................................................................................................... 53 F. OILSEED CROPS ............................................................................................................................. 60 G. VEGETABLES .................................................................................................................................. 71 H. RESEARCH LEADER ACTIVITIES ..................................................................................................... 76 APPENDIX: TABLE 1 NCRPIS ACCESSIONS, ACQUIRED, AVAILABLE .................................................................. 78 TABLE 2 NCRPIS ACCESSIONS GERMINATED, REGENERATED, MADE AVAILABLE, BACKED UP ..... 79 TABLE 3 EXTERNAL NCRPIS DISTRIBUTIONS .................................................................................. 80 TABLE 4 NCRPIS ACCESSIONS OBSERVATIONS IN GRIN, IMAGES IN GRIN ................................... 81 TABLE 5 FIVE YEAR SUMMARY OF COLLECTION STATISTICS ............................................................ 82 APPENDIX FIGURE 1 ............................................................................................................................ 83 i NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL PLANT INTRODUCTION STATION NC-7 ANNUAL REPORT, JANUARY 1 - DECEMBER 31, 2018 I. PROJECT TITLE: NC-7 "Plant Germplasm and Information Management and Utilization" II. COOPERATING AGENCIES AND PRINCIPAL LEADERS (current): A. Administrative Advisor *W. Wintersteen, Iowa; transitioned to J. Colletti B. Regional Coordinator *C. Gardner, USDA-ARS, Iowa C. State Experiment Stations Representatives Voting members: 1. Illinois E. Sacks 7. Missouri J. Shannon 2. Indiana L. Hoagland / J. Janick 8. Nebraska D. Santra 3. Iowa T. Lübberstedt 9. N. Dakota B. Johnson 4. Kansas M. Stamm 10. Ohio P. Jourdan 5. Michigan A. Iezzoni 11. S. Dakota M. Caffe-Treml 6. Minnesota A. Lorenz 12. Wisconsin W. Tracy Non-voting participants: 13. California-Davis R. Karban 27. Missouri S. Flint Garcia 14. Connecticut M. Brand 28. Missouri S. Jose 15. Delaware R. Wisser 29. Nebraska C. Urea 16. Illinois J. Juvick 30. New Jersey S. Handel 17. Illinois G. Kling 31. New Jersey T. Molnar 18. Illinois S. Korban 32. New York J. Doyle 19. Illinois D. Lee 33. New York M. Gore 20. Indiana J. Janick 34. New York P. Griffiths 21. Iowa K. Lamkey 35. New York A. Hastings 22. Kansas A. Fritz 36. New York M. Smith 23. Kentucky T. Phillips 37. Wisconsin S. Kaeppler 24. Michigan R. Grumet 38. Wisconsin N. de Leon 25. Michigan J. Hancock 39. Texas D. Baltensperger 26. Mississippi S. Popescu D. U. S. Department of Agriculture (*Voting members) 1. ARS National Program Staff, Plant Germplasm * P. Bretting 2. ARS Plant Exchange Office * G. Kinard 3. ARS Area Director, Midwest Area *J.L. Willett 4. Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service A. Thro 5. National Center for Agric. Util. Research * T. Isbell 6. National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation * S. Greene E. North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, Ames, Iowa See organizational chart, Figure 1 in the Appendix. 1 III. PROGRESS OF WORK AND PRINCIPAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Personnel changes – May, 2017 – June, 2018: Departures: - Heather Kearney, USDA-ARS Germplasm Program Asst, October 20, 2017 Promotions: - Narinder Pal, USDA-ARS Biol. Science Tech (Plant Pathology) New Hires: - Kurt Kabriel, ISU student May, 2017, then ORISE intern, Information Technology, January, 2018 - Joyce Lok, ORISE intern, Germplasm Enhancement of Maize Project, Oct, 2017 Transitions: None Vacant USDA-ARS Positions: - Agri. Science Research Technician, Oilseeds (vice-Larsen) - Cat 4 Plant Pathologist (vice-Block) - Cat 4 Maize Curator (geneticist) - IT Specialist (new) - Term Cat 3 Agronomist (Germplasm Enhancement of Maize - GEM) - Term Biol. Science Tech (Seed Storage) Vacant ISU Positions: None Appendix Figure 1 illustrates the organization of the NCRPIS staff and their roles. Management of Federal and ISU Student Temporary Employees: USDA-ARS resources provided for 19 student part-time temporary positions in FY 2016, primarily via the Research Support Agreement with Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. student (plant breeding and genetics, GEM funds). NC7 resources provided for an addition 0.5 student FTE. The ORISE and other temporary positions support curatorial activities including regeneration, seed processing, viability testing, farm and facilities operations, IT support, and the GEM Project. Students were interviewed and selected by ISU Program Manager Fred Engstrom. Marci Bushman and Heather Kearney managed the administrative aspects of all student hires, with support and guidance from Ames ARS & APHIS HR Specialists Lindsay Evans and Sireena Foley, and ARS Admin. Officers Carol Moran, and Candace Weuve. Budget: We appreciate the support of the Agricultural Experiment Stations of the North Central Region, which have maintained their annual support and continued to provide $522,980 in Hatch funds. These funds support the salaries of our nine ISU staff members, their professional travel, and some expenses. In addition, Iowa State University’s Agricultural Experiment Station provides support valued at over $400,000 annually that supports infrastructure, administration, and benefits for current NCRPIS-ISU staff members and retirees. 2 We are grateful that Hatch funding resources were maintained throughout the difficult sequestration period, and hope they continue to be stable or increase in the future. Currently, about 96% of Hatch NC7 funds are devoted to the wages and salaries of the nine permanent ISU employees. In the near future we will be unable to provide incremental salary increases due to Hatch funding constraints. If ISU wage increases of 1.5% are granted in FY18, this figure climbs to 97%; if an additional 1% increase is granted in FY19 barring personnel changes. This limits professional meeting travel, technical training, and temporary student hiring with ISU resources. FY2018 USDA-ARS funding was essentially the same as final FY2014 funding, minus a one percent assessment for ‘Big Data.’ The PI CRIS was funded at $2.38M (net to location) and the GEM CRIS at $1.2M. Student hiring for summer 2018 was challenging, despite raising our starting wage for ISU students by almost $2/hour to $12/hour, and we were not quite able to fulfill the need for 25 summer FTE, but much better than in 2017. We attribute this to both the requirement for all agriculture students to complete internships, and the growing disparity in what we can offer for wages versus other hiring opportunities. F. Engstrom advertised positions more widely across ISU colleges, and the students that did apply were excellent. Any reductions in funding will force reduction in student hiring, necessary for executing our genebank’s mission. Like many other research units, our ability to cover all aspects of our mission is challenged. Our personnel strive to cover all functions and serve the collections entrusted to us and our stakeholders to the best of our ability. Given the high turnover since 2014, a great deal of time and attention has been paid to recruitment and hiring activities,