The North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission Foundation has been awarded $138,173 from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to support a new project addressing the threat of Guava Root-Knot Nematode (GRKN). The grant, which began Nov. 1, 2025, funds a specialized initiative titled "Unified Approach in Eradicating GRKN." The Foundation will carry out the project through Oct. 31, 2027, and must provide semiannual programmatic and financial reports to the state.
Project Leadership The Foundation has engaged Ann Gallagher, a retired North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plant pest specialist, to lead the project. Gallagher brings more than 20 years of service with the department and extensive hands-on knowledge of sweetpotato production and plant pest management.
Industry Context "This partnership with the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission allows us to take a proactive stance against a pest that threatens our agricultural heritage," said Michelle Grainger, executive director of the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission Foundation. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Benson, North Carolina, dedicated to the sustainability and promotion of the state's sweetpotato industry. The North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission, founded in 1961, represents over 400 sweetpotato producers along with packers and business associates.
Why It Matters
Root-knot nematodes pose a significant pest threat to sweetpotato production.
The coordinated state-backed approach signals growing concern about agricultural threats to one of North Carolina's specialty crops and demonstrates how legacy agricultural funding mechanisms (in this case, tobacco trust funds) are being redirected to support crop diversification and pest management across the state.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
