NDSU Student Earns Award for Bean Research

By Scout Nelson

A graduate student from North Dakota State University receives national recognition for his work in plant science research. Jose Figueroa Cerna, who studies in the Plant Sciences department and assists with breeding projects, earns first place for the best student oral presentation at a major agriculture meeting held in early November.

The event brings together researchers and crop improvement experts who focus on dry bean development.

Jose presents his research on creating a genomic selection framework for dry bean breeding. His study aims to build a tool that helps plant breeders make earlier and more accurate decisions when selecting new varieties.

The goal is to improve crop performance and support long term progress in agriculture. His presentation explains how data and technology can speed up breeding work that usually takes many years.

The project collects information from advanced breeding lines over several years. It includes traits such as yield, seed size, flowering time, maturity, quality, and disease resistance.

Research uses genotyping by sequencing to study thousands of genetic markers. After careful filtering, a smaller group of useful markers is identified to design a chip that plant breeders can use in future work.

Several genomic models are tested to measure how well they predict traits. Results show moderate to high accuracy, depending on the trait being studied. The research also evaluates two new populations to confirm the tool’s performance.

One group focuses on resistance to a soybean pest, and the other studies protein content. The results show that marker selection can improve accuracy and help breeders make stronger decisions.

The project receives support from national agriculture research programs and includes contributions from multiple scientists. The study provides a pathway for programs to use genomic tools in a practical and scalable way. This work helps move dry bean breeding forward and shows how student research can make a positive impact.

Photo Credit: north-dakota-state-university