Tarleton Researcher Leads Collaborative Pollination Project

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a team headed by Tarleton State University researcher Dr. Adam Mitchell $749,923 for the project “Partners in Pollination-Capacity Building for Agriculture STEM Research in Pollinator Conservation on Texas Grasslands.”

The project addresses pollinator conservation in grassland ecosystems across the Southern Great Plains.

“This project fosters opportunities for student learning to increase matriculation rates of students entering agricultural STEM fields or advanced degrees,” said Dr. Mitchell, “including funding for six undergraduate researchers, three graduate students, one doctoral student and partial funding for a postdoctoral researcher.”

A long-term goal is to identify pollinator-friendly plants that could be incorporated into seed mixes for restoration and management across agricultural strips, rangelands, restored grasslands and urban working lands including the use of native grasses as supplemental pollen feed for native pollinators as well as drought-tolerant species. 

Co-principal investigators are Dr. Jeff Brady and Dr. Jim Muir of Texas A&M AgriLife Research-Stephenville and John Randall Bow and Dr. Anthony Falk of Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Photo Courtesty of ThisIsEngineering