Many people do not know the history of the cultivated wild rice industry here in Minnesota. Recently an article was published by the Minnesota Farm Bureau about this very topic. The article talks about some of the big players in the industry, the process of growing wild rice, and about the plant itself. Read the article for yourself!

We were happy to have our growers out for our annual wild rice field day! This year we changed up the format a bit, switching to a more conversational set up instead of presentations. We were able to get more feedback this way and stir up some good conversation. We discussed breeding objectives as well as our ongoing and upcoming research projects, which will be elaborated upon at the annual meeting in December. There was then a quick tour of the paddies, which are looking great this year, and finally a nice lunch! As always, it was great to catch up with everyone and get some important feedback.

Our program is excited to be a part of a new international NFRF grant. This grant will fund a huge multifaceted set of projects which ultimately seek to empower local communities to create sustainable, circular food systems and economies in a way that suits them best. Aiding in the development of food and economic sovereignty for indigenous groups across multiple countries are the main goals of these projects. We are ready to get the projects rolling and strengthen our international collaborations. 

After we get done planting it's time to flag the paddies. In this photo we are preparing to flag a production paddy for some upcoming pest research. It's important that we differentiate the paddy into treatment blocks so that we can see the effect of our treatments. Check back later for updates on this research! 

This planting season has been a wild ride with the wet weather over the last month. Nonetheless, we have finished up planting several paddies at the North Central Research and Outreach Center as well as multiple on-farm trials. We also have isolation tanks set up around the research center to grow populations that require more isolation for a variety of reasons. We are ready for the growing season to take off!

Claudia's new paper was published in the journal Frontiers of Plant Science. Her research investigated the transcriptomes of both wild rice and Bipolaris Oryzae, the pathogen causing fungal brown spot in wild rice, during infection and disease development. This study identified gene expression relating to plant defense as well as pathogenicity, which may serve as targets for the selection of more disease resistant plants. Read the paper here!

Maybell presented at the CFANS research symposium, which is an event that allows researchers from the undergraduate to the faculty level to share their research. Maybell displayed data related to her gene expression study in wild rice, which looks at how genes are expressed across many tissue types. We are glad she was able to show off the hard work she has done on this project! See the full poster here!

Nathaniel grew up in Grand Rapids Minnesota but is from Helena Montana. He graduated from Grand Rapids High School and is currently going to Itasca Community College for a certificate in GIS. After ICC he plans to go to UND for the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics UAS operations. In the program he helps with various tasks and flies the imaging drone. He enjoys fishing and swimming at his cabin and flying his drone.

Nangah is a Cameroon native and second-year Human Physiology student at the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about understanding physiological aspects of the human body and how it ties to nutrition. She is also captivated by the endless possibilities of biotechnology. Nangah aspires to elevate healthcare in Cameroon through her studies. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, dancing, and learning new languages.

Kane is a Plant Science major who grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but is originally from The Florida Keys where he spent most of his summers growing up. He is broadly interested in plant-pathogen interactions, aquatic plants, and ethnoagriculture. In his spare time he likes traveling, reading, and trying new foods. 

Nangah and Kane are undergraduate students in the lab working on characterizing seedling traits in cultivated wild rice.