A Message from the Vice President and the Director

Much of the research conducted by scientists with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center can be seen in action all around us. Some of our basic research may be more difficult to note. Both are vital to the state’s economic engine. Basic research leads to discoveries that have impact well beyond our current view. Applied research lets us address Ohio’s emerging needs.

This annual report provides a few examples of both. We hope you’ll take time to review the work of our award-winning scientists:

• We don’t grow rice in Ohio and, in a global sense, we don’t have starving people. Still, Guo-Liang Wang’s work is vital to OARDC, this state and to those concerned with world hunger and malnutrition. Wang’s basic research on rice is being applied to improve other cereal crops, both for production and nutritional qualities. Rice is the crop of choice, because information gained in studying its genomic structure can be easily transferred to other plants.
• Ohio’s wineries have seen earnings double in the past six years, and they credit OARDC research. We’ve developed varieties that can thrive in our climate and helped build a $70-million industry.
• Our team of food engineers are developing techniques that result in preserved foods that taste fresher and last longer. They’re even developing foods that will improve the nutritional intake for our soldiers.
• When SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) struck, world health authorities turned to OARDC researcher Linda Saif, who was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. Saif is one of a few expert coronavirologists in the world and was able to provide the Centers for Disease Control with antibodies and antiserums to related coronaviruses, which is hoped will lead to vaccine development.
• The Ohio State University Buckeyes football team, the Cincinnati Reds, the Columbus Crew and countless other high school and professional teams have something in common: they benefit from OARDC research. Our turfgrass team works with professional turf managers to make sure fields are safe and durable. They also help high schools with limited budgets create fields that are safe for players and stand up to rough, athletic treatment.
• The Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is conserving the reproductive cells of plants to be used by plant breeders and other researchers. Without such a center, important qualities could be lost. Nearly 2,000 plant accessions are housed in the Center.

This work is conducted in partnership with Ohio State University Extension and OSU’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Working together, we help Ohio State University achieve its land-grant mission.

Steven A. Slack
Associate Vice President for
Agricultural Administration,
The Ohio State University
College of Food, Agricultural, and
Environmental Sciences, and
Director, Ohio Agricultural
Research and Development Center