Research is underway at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to see if crops can be made more drought resistant

This research focuses around Sorghum. Researchers take the seed off the plant and place it in a container.

As the plant is germinating, they replicate drought conditions that are going to stress the plant, and then they look at the plant at the cellular level to figure out how it works.

Across the Rio Grande Valley, the water supply continues drying up and farmers are still rationing water.

At UTRGV, new grant funding is at work in the hopes of improving the crops we use.

They're studying the sorghum plant because they know it's resistant to heat.

"Since sorghum is relatively tolerant to drought and heat, our long term goal is to compare that with other stress susceptible species like corn or rice," professor Manohar Chakrabarti said.

Chakrabarti says they'll go beyond existing research on the sorghum plant which documents what the plant does when it grows, and replicates its DNA.

This research will focus on how its DNA and genetic system replicates.

He says techniques called molecular breeding or gene editing could be the key. 

Targeting specific parts of the genes of those plants, they can be modified to make them more heat tolerant.

"I think that will change agriculture within the next few years," Chakrabarti said.

Researchers hope to transform agriculture altogether.

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