Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno, have developed new varieties of sorghum that are bred to withstand Nevada’s arid climate and Reno’s short growing season—but future work is in jeopardy due to President Trump’s spending cuts.
Sorghum is a cousin to corn that originated in Africa. It is a grain widely used as livestock feed, especially in Asia and Africa. It is also eaten by humans and is sometimes an ingredient in gluten-free beer.
Melinda Yerka is a plant breeder, geneticist and an associate professor at UNR’s Department of Agriculture, Veterinary and Rangeland Studies. She and her colleagues collaborate with sorghum breeders at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Kenya so her sorghum varieties can reach developing nations. She specializes in developing new varieties that are adaptable to Nevada’s dry climate—and similar climates elsewhere—as opposed to studying varieties of sorghum that thrive elsewhere and trying to make them thrive here. She also develops strains that can be widely bred, and studies sorghum varieties primarily from California, Texas, Kansas and sub-Saharan Africa.
Yerka and her team have developed 200 new varieties of sorghum. If that sounds like a high number, Yerka explained that, in her field, that’s the norm. A wide cross-section of samples helps scientists identify genes in the plants that control traits they want to duplicate for arid-climate farming.
Yerka said that UNR is working toward becoming a lead institution for sorghum development and research under the guidance of Bill Payne, dean of the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources. This is getting more difficult, however, as President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders cut funds to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency that financially supports Yerka’s work.
“We are all in turmoil,” she said. “No one can apply for grants.”
The USDA’s grant portals are closed, and UNR scientists had received no updates on when they may reopen as of this writing. Yerka said this has had an immobilizing and demoralizing effect on the entire department.