The University of Florida is the new home for a major plant breeding accelerator program, an effort to provide nutritious food for the nation and to keep farms competitive.
It is a USDA-Agricultural Research Service-funded program called Breeding Insight (BI). The initiative supports public breeding efforts via more than 61 programs at the USDA as well as university-based programs across the country.
Scientists at Breeding Insight use advanced prediction methods, including high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, and custom software applications to dramatically accelerate the development of new pest-free and disease-free crops that are more robust and nutritious.
They also bring their expertise to ornamental crops that support healthy ecosystems as well as animal breeding programs…