This 15th annual report covers research during 1976. The various sections of the report deal with the interdisciplinary approach to problem areas. The department or departments that performed the research are identified in italics below the topic headinig, i.e. EVALUATING DISEASE RESISTANCE OF BREEDING MATERIALS Plant Pathology Department. In collaborative work, the department that did one phase of the research is identified in italics in parentheses following the subtopic. For example, the Chemistry, Plant Breeding, and Plant Physiology Departments cooperated in the project FACTORS THAT AFFECT GRAIN QUALITY. Because the Chemistry Department bore responsbility for one phase of this effort, its name follows the subtopic