**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANT BREEDING HAS LED TO SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN CROP YIELD OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS. HOWEVER, THESE INCREASES ARE NOT SUFFICIENT TO MEET FUTURE GLOBAL FOOD DEMANDS. AS CLIMATIC, POLICY, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND FOOD PRODUCTION UNCERTAINTIES CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE MODERN FOOD SYSTEMS, NEW APPROACHES ARE NEEDED TO IMPROVE FOOD PRODUCTION. WHILE GMOS AND NEWER GENE EDITING TECHNOLOGIES MIGHT ENHANCE YIELD IMPROVEMENTS, THERE ARE NEGATIVE ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE APPROACHES. WHAT IS NEEDED ARE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES FOR INCREASING YIELDS THAT REDUCE INPUTS LIKE FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES AND ENHANCE SOIL HEALTH TO MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. PLANT BREEDERS RECOGNIZE THAT GENETICS, ENVIRONMENT, AND THE INTERACTION BETWEEN GENETICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT IMPACT CROP PRODUCTIVITY. IN THE PAST, BREEDERS HAVE FOCUSED ON BREEDING VARIETIES THAT PERFORM WELL ACROSS MANY ENVIRONMENTS. MORE RECENTLY IT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED THAT VARIETIES THAT PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY WELL INONE ENVIRONMENT MAY HAVE A SUSTAINABLE YIELD ADVANTAGE. JUST AS A BALL TEAM CAN OFTEN PERFORM BETTER IN THEIR HOME PARK, WE KNOW A VARIETY CAN BE ESPECIALLY ADAPTED TO A SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENT, WHICH WE CALL THE HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE. WHILE THE REASONS FOR HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE OF A BALL TEAM ARE EASY TO IMAGINE, A HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE OF A SPECIFIC CROP VARIETY IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. THE HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE OF LOCALLY ADAPTED STRAINS IS PARTLY DUE TO THE COMPATIBLE SOIL MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLANT ROOTS. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW PLANTS ATTRACT THESE BENEFICIAL MICROORGANISMS OR THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THESE MICROBES HELP PLANTS DEAL WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS SUCH AS DROUGHT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO STUDY THE DIFFERENCES IN THE MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROOTS OF DIFFERENT BARLEY VARIETIES AND ASSESS THE ADAPTATION OF THESE VARIETIES TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS. ULTIMATELY THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED INRECRUITMENT OF THE BARLEY ROOT MICROBIAL COMMUNITY AND THE INTERACTIONS THAT OCCUR TO INCREASE PLANT DROUGHT TOLERANCE. THIS WORK WILL LEAD TO MORE SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION THAT IS BETTER ABLE TO ADAPT TO CHANGING CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.