Modern Lab Facility Advances Pecan Health Research

The Pecan Breeding and Genetics Program of the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) has finished a $2.5 million laboratory modernization to its facility at The Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center in Somerville, TX, to advance pecan breeding through genetics and plant disease research. A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by representatives of USDA’s ARS and the Texas Pecan Grower’s Association was took place on March 26. The ARS is the USDA’s chief scientific in-house research agency and focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting the US. 

“The USDA-ARS has bred and released most of the pecan cultivars in production today,” says Dr. Joshua Udall, Research Geneticist, Crop Germplasm Research Unit. “It being such a long-lived crop, the pecan stakeholders such as the Texas Pecan Growers wanted to ensure the security of pecan research into the future.” 

The project team consisted of Setty and Associates of Washington DC (design engineer), Jane Baughman of EYP Architects and Engineers (lab consultant), and Shellback Construction of Brenham, TX (general contractor).  

The BSL-1 genetics and pathology laboratory meets biosafety containment standards and includes hands-free doors and sinks in every room. The facility offers dedicated research spaces for plant genetics, microscopy, tissue culture, controlled-environment growth chambers, and plant disease research, says Dr. Warren Chatwin, Lead Scientist, Research Geneticist Pecan Breeding & Genetics Program, USDA Crop Germplasm Research Unit. “Since this location was established in the 1980s, there has been no on-site laboratory capable of supporting modern genetics and plant disease research. Scientists interested in performing that research needed to rely on collaborations with external researchers or borrow laboratory space from other scientists at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center in College Station, TX,” says Chatwin. “This facility will increase the quality, accuracy, and speed of pecan breeding, genetics, and plant disease research.”  

The laboratory was designed during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Udall, which presented a challenge to the project team as they worked to meet timelines during supply shortages. An additional challenge was that the project was designed in two independent phases, says Mark Buxkemper, Facility Manager, Pecan Breeding & Genetics Program. “The reason for this was due to the funding availability timelines. It was challenging because we have to ensure the design would provide a functional space upon completion and yet maximize cost-effectiveness of multiple designs. Both phases were funded, but with two sets of independent plans it was challenging to ensure everything called for in each phase was accomplished. Maximizing available space and yet provide the necessary flow between areas did present challenges since spaces needed to be certain sizes to maximize the laboratory equipment.” 

The new lab will enable controlled evaluations of promising breeding lines using different regional strains of pecan scab. Pecan scab is caused by the fungal pathogen Venturia effusa—this disease has high diversity across the geographic range of cultivated pecans and causes major disruptions to the pecan industry’s economy. The new lab facility enables the Pecan Breeding and Genetics Program to screen pecan scab cultures from across the US (plus other pathogens, including the heavily quarantined international pathogen Xylella fastidiosa) in a controlled environment, allowing for the identification of new sources of disease resistance. Researchers will then incorporate those unique samples into the pecan breeding program.  

“The most unique thing about the new laboratory at the Pecan Breeding & Genetics Program in Somerville, TX, is that it is situated alongside the pecan orchard to facilitate translation of genetic research directly into new cultivars. With the exception of our sister-site researching pecan diseases in Byron, GA, there are no other federal laboratories in the country dedicated to pecan breeding and the collection of pecan genetic diversity,” says Udall. 

The average span from planting a new seedling to releasing a new pecan cultivar is 28 years. Therefore, the Pecan Breeding and Genetics Program requires time, patience, and forward-thinking planning. This modern, on-site laboratory facilitates the program's transition to incorporate genetic techniques into pecan breeding so that researchers can accurately predict mature nut traits on young seedlings, saving up to a decade in the breeding process. 

“One of the most important things we learned was to take time to think about every detail of the design including airflow, water flow, and workflow,” Usall says. “We were fortunate to work with such talented designers and architects within the USDA and the respective contractors that they asked good questions and ultimately resulted in a superb modern facility.”