The Secretary of Agriculture may make grants to consortia of land-grant colleges and universities to enhance the ability of the consortia to carry out multi-State research projects aimed at understanding and combating diseases of wheat, triticale, and barley caused by Fusarium graminearum and related fungi (referred to in this section as “wheat scab”) or by Tilletia indica and related fungi (referred to in this section as “Karnal bunt”).

Funds provided under this section shall be available for the following collaborative, multi-State research activities:

(1) Identification and understanding of the epidemiology of wheat scab or of Karnal bunt, and the toxicological properties of vomitoxin, a toxic metabolite commonly occurring in wheat, triticale, and barley infected with wheat scab.

(2) Development of crop management strategies to reduce the risk of wheat scab or Karnal bunt occurrence.

Development of—

(A) efficient and accurate methods to monitor wheat, triticale, and barley for the presence of Karnal bunt or of wheat scab and resulting vomitoxin contamination;

(B) post-harvest management techniques for wheat, triticale, and barley infected with wheat scab or with Karnal bunt; and

(C) milling and food processing techniques to render wheat scab contaminated grain safe.

(4) Strengthening and expansion of plant-breeding activities to enhance the resistance of wheat, triticale, and barley to wheat scab and to Karnal bunt, including the establishment of a regional advanced breeding material evaluation nursery and a germplasm introduction and evaluation system.

(5) Development and deployment of alternative fungicide application systems and formulations to control wheat scab and Karnal bunt and consideration of other chemical control strategies to assist farmers until new more resistant wheat, triticale, and barley varieties are available.

Funds provided under this section shall be available for efforts to concentrate, integrate, and disseminate research, extension, and outreach-orientated information regarding wheat scab or Karnal bunt.

To oversee the use of a grant made under this section, the Secretary may establish a committee composed of the directors of the agricultural experiment stations in the States in which land-grant colleges and universities that are members of the consortium are located.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—

(1) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2013;

(2) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018; and

(3) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.

A recipient of a grant under this section may not use more than 10 percent of the funds provided by the grant for the indirect costs of carrying out the initiatives described in subsection (a).

(Pub. L. 105–185, title IV, § 408, June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 574; Pub. L. 107–171, title VII, §§ 7131, 7207(d)(1)–(4)(A), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 435, 440, 441; Pub. L. 110–234, title VII, § 7307, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1242; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title VII, § 7307, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2004; Pub. L. 113–79, title VII, § 7303, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 888; Pub. L. 115–334, title VII, § 7303, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4815.)