USDA Grants MSU $611,000 to Research Heavy Metals Uptake in Food Crops, Identify Mitigation Strategies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA) has granted a Michigan State University (MSU) research team $611,000 to explore the uptake of toxic heavy metals in food crops, with the goal of providing a guide containing mitigation strategies and decision-making resources for growers and policymakers.
The project is led by Wei Zhang, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at MSU. Dr. Zhang and his team aim to understand the complex drivers of crop uptake of heavy metals, which vary by crop species, soil type, field topography and climatic conditions.