** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE INCREASING FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY OF DROUGHT POSE A MAJOR THREAT TO CROP PRODUCTION BY REDUCING THE ARABLE LAND. ALSO, INCREASING PRESSURE ON AGRICULTURAL LANDS TO FEED THE GROWING POPULATION COULD BE PARTLY ALLEVIATED BY BRINGING DROUGHTED MARGINAL LANDS BACK TO MAINSTREAM AGRICULTURE. THE ABOVE TWO COULD MATERIALIZE ONLY IF ROBUST PRACTICES ARE FORMULATED TO ENABLE CROPS TO TOLERATE DROUGHT. BREEDING FOR DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN CROP PLANTS IS A VIABLE, BUT TIME-CONSUMING STRATEGY. MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANT ROOTS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO PROVIDE DROUGHT TOLERANCE TO NATIVE, RUDERAL PLANT SPECIES, WHICH COULD BE ADOPTED IN CROP PRODUCTION. HOWEVER, TRANSFERRING THESE MICROBIOMES FROM RUDERAL SPECIES TO CROPS WITHOUT LOSING THE FUNCTIONAL TRAIT OF DROUGHT TOLERANCE IS RARELY ACHIEVED DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS AND THE LOWER PERSISTENCE OF THE INTRODUCED MICROORGANISMS UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH FOCUSES ON IDENTIFYING THE MICROBIOME THAT IMPARTS DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN RUDERAL PLANTS AND DEVISING STRATEGIES TO TRANSFER THE MICROBIOME-MEDIATED DROUGHT TOLERANCE TRAIT TO CROP PLANTS. USING FIELD SAMPLING AND GREENHOUSE EXPERIMENTS, THE RESEARCHERS WILL SELECT AND CHARACTERIZE THE HIGHLY DROUGHT-TOLERANT MICROBIOME FROM THE NATIVE GRASS ANDROPOGON VIRGINICUS ADAPTED TO DROUGHT CONDITIONS. FURTHER, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MICROBIOME TO IMPART DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN CORN WILL BE TESTED USING A SERIES OF GREENHOUSE EXPERIMENTS. THE CHALLENGE OF SUPPORTING THE BENEFICIAL MICROBIOME UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY SELECTING IDEAL GRASS COVER CROP SPECIES THAT ARE FUNCTIONALLY SIMILAR TO ANDROPOGON AND CORN. THIS WOULD BE ACHIEVED BY SELECTING COVER CROP BIOTYPES WITH A SIMILAR ROOT EXUDATE PROFILE AS THAT OF ANDROPOGON, AND HENCE WOULD SUSTAIN A SIMILAR MICROBIOME COMMUNITY. THE SELECTION OF A FUNCTIONALLY SIMILAR COVER CROP WOULD PROVIDE AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT TO AMPLIFY THE MICROBIOME IN THE FIELD BEFORE CORN IS PLANTED. FIELD EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE THE EFFICIENCY OF COVER CROPS TO AMPLIFY THE INOCULUM OF THE SELECTED MICROBIOME AND FURTHER THE POTENTIAL OF THIS MICROBIOME TO PROVIDE DROUGHT RESILIENCE TO CORN.OVERALL, THE PROPOSED APPROACH WILL ENABLE THE SELECTION AND APPLICATION OF MICROBIOME IN CROP PRODUCTION SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE DROUGHT RESILIENCE IN CROPS.