Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs Target Audience:Target audience:The target audience includes organic producers, food processors, pulse breeders, consumers, and future generations (underrepresented SC high school, graduate, and undergraduate students - Emerging scholars program, SC Commissioner School, Creative Inquiry, and UPIC programs). These key stakeholders are from local, national, and international audiences from Africa and Asia. Briefly, (1) Classroom education includes graduate students, visiting fellows, plant breeders, CI: undergraduate students, beginning, non-traditional farmers, and veterans, internship program for undergraduate students (first-year students from PES), underrepresented national and international high school students; consumers, food processors, health workers, and community; 4-H students from South Carolina (middle and high school students); and global research community; (2) Extension and outreach: growers, food processors, consumers, marketing personnel, researchers, breeders, and future generations. Changes/Problems:Two on-farm locations in North Carolina (NC) were unsuccessful due to the weed and disease pressure. Also, the current lentil cultivars in production are not adapted to climatic conditions in NC. We acquired new germplasm from ICARDA, Morocco, to test in NC, but we are expected to plant dry pea in NC instead of lentils in the 2023 winter. A new organic producer (Del Valle Fresh Inc, Roebuck, SC) will be added as the third on-farm location in SC to test organic lentil and dry peas in the 2023 winter. Other than the weather conditions or COVID-19, we are not expected to change any of the plan work for 2023. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three doctoral students, 2-3 undergraduates, part-time technicians, part-time breeders, part-time scientists, and full-time field technicians were trained. >100 high school students attended the breeding workshops. The PD participated in the Breeding for Quantitative Traits in Plants 3-credit course offered by Dr. Rex Bernardo in Spring 2022. Nathan Johnson: From Aug 2021 to Aug 2022, Nathan Johnson analyzed a lentil diversity panel for protein digestibility using an enzymatic assay and sulfur concentration using hydrogen peroxide digestion and ICP spectroscopy. He developed partial least squares models for rapid quantification of protein, sulfur-containing amino acids, resistant starch, and total starch using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for pulse crops. He performed genome-wide association studies for protein quality traits and discovered significant genetic markers for 17 of these traits. He also performed admixture analysis and analysis of variance for the lentil diversity panel. Nathan completed one class, "Pulse Genomics for Nutrition," in Spring 2022, led a high school 4-H group event, gave two oral presentations (Clemson Going Organic Webinar series and the North American Pulse International Association Biennial Meeting), and gave two poster presentations (Clemson Growers Meeting and McCall Farms Gift Announcement). He published one co-first-authored paper describing his protein FTIR work and drafted a first-author paper describing his protein GWAS work. He prepared and successfully defended his dissertation on July 14. Sonia Salaria and Mark Dempsey (first year doctoral students) - They have taken regular graduate-level classes, completed first year field and greenhouse studies, developed the lentil association mapping population for protein quality, and currently developing a MAGIC population for lentil protein quality. A UPIC undergraduate intern trained on plant breeding and FTIR technology for protein quality measurement. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Protein quality and grain yield rankings by genotype have been distributed to stakeholders via the grower meetings. After complete data analysis, On-farm results will be disseminated directly to stakeholders (food processing, consumers, and marketing) using multiple social media outlets - website, YouTube, and social media. As such, Mr. Cory Tanner from Clemson Extension has regularly coordinated data releases and publications in addition to updating social media networks. Dr. Erin Clayton has coordinated protein quality data release to the plant-based food processing and manufacturing community. We developed a new global partnership with FoodShot Global for precision protein. The results have been presented at the NAPIA meeting to update the pulse research community and communicated to national and local stakeholders via board meetings, peer-reviewed publications, webinars, and workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue the work related to all three objectives in the proposal.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Advanced Lentil Breeding Trial: In year 1 of the organic lentil evaluations, nine elite cultivars in production were planted at three certified organic locations in Pelion, South Carolina (SC), Concord, and Mills River, North Carolina (NC). The Pelion, SC trial was planted on 1 February 2022, and the two NC locations were planted on 15 February 2022. The cultivars were planted in a randomized complete block design with four replicates, one check variety per rep, and encompassed by border plots. The trials were planted using an Almaco cone plot planter, sown into 4.65 m2 (50 ft2) plots with seven rows spaced 7.5 inches apart at a seeding rate of 130 seeds/m2. Agronomic data were collected using the Pheno App' Field Book' to record quantitative and visual assessment data, including germination, vigor, days to flower, days to maturity, canopy height, plant height, the height of the first pod, pods per peduncle, lodging, disease/insect damage, frost tolerance, and canopy closure. Visual evaluations and qualitative data were given by assigning ratings relative to other test entries over three reps on a scale of 0/1 to 5 according to predefined criteria. The Pelion trial was harvested on 1 June 2022 with an Almaco SPC 20 configured with a platform head. The Concord trial was harvested on 16 June 2022, and the Mills River trial was not harvested due to poor organic management. The seed was stored in a controlled drying barn to attain the optimal moisture content before being weighed, cleaned, sampled, and ground for nutritional analysis. Data analysis for the yield, agronomic traits, and nutritional quality is still in progress. The Pelion trial had the best agronomic performance, adaptability, and yield. The highest yielding cultivars in Pelion were 'Avondale,' 'CDC Imvincible,' and 'CDC Proclaim.' The highest yielding cultivars in Concord were 'CDC Peridot, 'CDC Imvincible,' and 'CDC Impala.' The three lowest yielding cultivars were the same at both locations, with 'CDC Dazil' as the lowest, followed by 'Pardina' and 'CDC Impress.' The study will be replicated again in 2022-2023 at three locations. LSP: The Lens Single Plant (LSP) collection was increased and evaluated for the first time at the certified organic location in Pelion, SC. The collection comprised 300 accessions from the Lens Single Plant Collection, obtained from the USDA-ARS germplasm in Pullman, Washington. The germplasm collection was planted on 1 February 2022 in an alpha-lattice design into ten-foot plots, consisting of four rows spaced 15 inches apart using an Almaco' head-row' plot planter. Accessions were evaluated on agronomic adaptability and performance using the Pheno App' Field Book' to record quantitative and visual assessment data. The collection was hand-harvested at maturity in increments starting on 20 May 2022 and ending on 3 June 2022. The harvested plants were then moved to a drying barn and threshed with an Almaco Belt Thresher. The seed will be used for protein quality and genomic analysis, and the remaining seed will be planted in 2023. The agronomic and nutritional data analysis will be used to identify accessions with exceptional agronomic adaptability and protein content for parental selection and implementation into the breeding pipeline. The study will be replicated again in 2022-2023 for two locations for the genomic prediction study. PSP: A subset of the Pea Single Plant (PSP) collection was selected and planted on 31 January 2022 at the organic transition farm location in Clemson, SC, to serve as observational plots. Ninety-eight accessions were selected for their high protein content obtained from nutritional analysis from previous trials. The germplasm collection was planted in a randomized complete block design into ten-foot plots, consisting of four rows spaced 15 inches apart using an Almaco' head-row' plot planter. Observational notes and agronomic ratings were recorded and used to identify accessions with desirable traits and adaptability as breeding parents. The trial was hand harvested on 7 June 2022 and moved to the drying barn before being threshed. Seed samples were collected and ground for seed composition nutritional analysis. For breeding cycle 2, Spring of 2022, eighteen crosses were made on protein quality and adaptability. Parents utilized were six commercial cultivars, six high-protein plant introductions (PI's), and two PI's having improved phosphorus uptake under organic growing conditions. The resulting F1 seed has been harvested and planted in the GH and then advanced F2 - F3 via SSD in the GH, with the resulting F4 seed planted in the Pelion field nursery. Objective 2: Phenotyping Pipeline (partnership with the USAID): Fourier-transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectroscopy is a high-throughput, cost-effective method to quantify nutritional traits, total protein, and sulfur-containing amino acids SAA concentrations in plant matter. We used FT-MIR spectroscopy coupled with an attenuated total internal reflectance (ATR) sampling interface to develop multivariate models to measure total protein and SAA concentrations. Total nitrogen (N) data from combustion analysis and SAA data from high-performance liquid chromatography analysis following acid hydrolysis were used for model calibration and validation. Protein Quality and digestibility: A ~143-member lentil heat-tolerant GWAS population and 129-member global mapping population from ICARDA were used for screening to develop climate-resilient lentil cultivars with improved protein quality and to determine population structure for lentils. This panel had six sub-groups. The mean concentration of 17 different amino acids (AA) was quantified, including the sulfur-containing amino acids (SAA): methionine (0.21%) and cysteine (0.22%). Fifty significant SNPs were associated with 17 traits (Johnson & D. Thavarajah in preparation for PNAS, 2023). Lentil Protein Mapping Panel: A lentil association mapping panel (LAMP) composed of 446 accessions was assembled to evaluate high protein quality in cultivated germplasm with better agronomy.The LAMP was screened in the greenhouse in a completely randomized design with three replications per accession during Spring-Summer 2022. LAMP will be genotyped in the fall of 2022 to perform Genome-wide association studies and identify significant SNPs linked to agronomic and protein quality traits. The combined phenotyping and genotyping approach will facilitate the identification of genomic regions impacting the agronomy and quality, providing the best lines for agronomy and quality to develop the lentil breeding pipeline using genomic prediction. Food processing pipeline: We developed three inventions: 1) an organic protein isolation process, 2) prebiotic carbohydrate enrichment, and 3) liquid protein and carbohydrates for beverages and semi-solid food applications. Invention 1 has been submitted to the US Patent and Trademarks Office (#73/106,015), and the other two are undergoing commercial value evaluation at the Clemson University Research Foundation (CURF:#2022-033). The US Patent application is titled "Methods of isolating plant protein and related composition" and was published in April 2022. Objective 3: See the accomplishments under the products and other products. We developed a social media outlet, the "Going Organic" webinar series, several grower events, and 4-H and SC commissioner school workshops (500 contacts).
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Sonia Salaria , Jon Lucas Boatwright, Pushparajah Thavarajah, Shiv Kumar, Dil Thavarajah!, 2022. Protein biofortification in lentils (Lens culinaris Medikus.) toward human health. Frontiers in Plant Science, Plant Breeding 13:869713. 05 April 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.869713.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Amod Udayanga , Nathan Johnson , Pushparajah Thavarajah, Leung Tang, Dil Thavarajah!, 2022. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) as a high-throughput phenotyping tool for quantifying protein quality in pulse crops. The Plant Phenome Journal, 5, e20047. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.20047.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Hasnae Choukri, Noureddine El Haddad, Khawla Aloui, Kamal Hejjaoui, Adil El-Baouchi, Abdelaziz Smouni, Dil Thavarajah, Fouad Maalouf, Shiv Kumar, 2022. High-temperature stress during the reproductive stage effects on grain yield and nutritional quality of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus). Front. Nutr., 15 April 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.857469.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Amod Udayanga , Leung Tang, Pushparajah Thavarajah, William Bridges, Emerson Shipe, George Vandemark, Dil Thavarajah!, 2021. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) as a source of essential fatty acids a biofortification approach. Frontiers in Plant Science, Plant Breeding. 12:734980. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.734980.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
J Lucas Boatwright, Sarah Powers, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Developing Genome-wide Resources for Mineral Biofortification of Pea (Pisum sativum L.). North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Nathan Johnson, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Toward a high-throughput molecular breeding pipeline for lentil protein quality. North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Amod Udayanga, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Fourier Transform Mid Infrared (FT-MIR) Spectroscopy as a tool to measure nutritional traits in pulses. North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Joshua Kay, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Are Organic Peas just as Nutritious as Conventional Peas? North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Sonia Salaria, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Lentil Protein Biofortification using Conventional Breeding and Association Mapping Approaches. North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Mark Dempsey, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Adapting Organic Lentil to the Southeastern US Climate and Soil. North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Tristan Lawrence, Dil Thavarajah, 2021. Going Organic Breeding organic dry pea cultivars. North American Pulse Improvement Association, Nov 2-4, 2021.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Nathan Johnson, LENTIL (LENS CULINARIS MEDIK.) PREBIOTIC CARBOHYDRATES AND PROTEIN QUALITY: UNCOVERING GENOMIC ASSOCIATIONS AND DEVELOPING RAPID FTIR PHENOTYPING METHODS, August 2022, Clemson University
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Website: clemson.edu/cafls/organic-breeding/orei/
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
YouTube Channel: Clemson Pulse Breeding
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfFSQSuo12_tNy7qZFATwg
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Twitter
Handle: @CpulsesBreeding
https://twitter.com/Cpulsesbreeding
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Organic Pulse Breeding, Market Bulletin, SC Department of Agriculture, Vol 25, 10.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Clemson doctoral student determines lentil genetic markers vital for global nutrition security. Clemson University.
https://news.clemson.edu/clemson-doctoral-student-determines-lentil-genetic-markers-vital-for-global-nutrition-security/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Clemson research aims to help S.C. farmers meet the demand for more nutritious legumes https://news.clemson.edu/clemson-research-aims-to-help-s-c-farmers-meet-demand-for-more-nutritious-legumes/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Atlanta Business Journal
https://atlantabusinessjournal.com/clemson-research-aims-to-help-sc-farmers-meet-demand-for-more-nutritious-legumes-agriculture/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
The Times and Democrat - The 'poor man's meat': Research aims to produce more nutritious legumes
https://thetandd.com/business/agriculture/the-poor-mans-meat-research-aims-to-produce-more-nutritious-legumes/article_fabfd5de-311b-529f-8979-787422b412cd.html
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Florence Morning News
https://scnow.com/agriculture/clemson-research-aims-to-help-sc-farmers-meet-demand-for-more-nutritious-legumes/article_821baf76-1ce6-11ec-ac47-3bdacfb13994.html
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Southeast Farm Press Daily email newsletter.
https://enewspro.penton.com/preview/farmpress/SEFP-01/20210923_SEFP-01_75/display?utm_rid=CPG02000002564174&utm_campaign=61999&utm_medium=email&elq2=eebf46faba394f53b3d072ab587ddcdb
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Carolina Farm Steward Association
https://us12.campaignarchive.com/?u=d23f69ef676d1fb458eadcd63&id=42d1cd7c4f&e=c5e879a6d2
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Alternative proteins, Plant-Based Foods, and the City: From Seed to Take-Out. Invited Panel/presentation, New York Botanical Garden "food dialogues" program. NY, Oct 1, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Organic pulse biofortification program, Seminar, PES, Clemson University, SC, Oct 15, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Pulse Crops and Human Health, CU School of Health Research, Invited Seminar, Nov 4, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Pulse breeding towards N fixation (Part-2), Invited lecture PES 8900: Plant Nitrogen Metabolism, Nov 23, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Invited talk, Organic dry pea breeding for SC, Carolina Golden Rice Foundation, Nov 30, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2022. Invited Panel Speaker, Plant-based protein - UNC CleanTech Summit, UNC, Chapel Hill, March 30, 2022.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2022. Invited Speaker, Organic Pea Breeding, Upstate Vegetable Grower Meeting, Greenville, SC, April 11, 2022.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2022. Speaker, OREI: Sustainable organic pulses, Organic pulse breeding team meeting, July 28, 2022.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Organic Pulse Breeding for Human Health, Invited Seminar, College of Agriculture, Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine (CAVM), Busogo Campus, University of Rwanda, Musanze, Rwanda. August 2, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2021. Invited talk, Nutritional importance of lentil in fighting back malnutrition - experiences from a model work. Legume Systems Innovation Lab Event on Lentil Sector in Nepal, USAID Nepal, Dec 16, 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Thavarajah Dil, 2022. Invited talk, Biofortification of pulses-recent Developments. Western Ag- Professional Development conference 2022, Saskatoon, Canada. March 2, 2022.
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