Research Programs
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department’s overall mission is to develop and extend knowledge in engineering and
technology that serves to advance the productivity of agriculture, the value-added
processing and utilization of agricultural commodities, and the sustainable management of
environmental resources. Its research programs generally involve multi disciplinary collaborations that are focused in the areas of: 1) value-added processing and handling technology, 2) bio-information and machine systems for agri-production and processing applications, and 3) environmental resources management. |
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Accomplishments/impacts include the following: |
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| Irrigation Water Management at the Carrington Research and
Extension Center Optimized expeller pressing of crambe seed Human food uses of flaxseed Sunflower quality sensing and processing Recovery of protein products from agricultural biomass Computer imaging for evaluation of spray coverage on plant targets Sugarbeet yield monitoring with global positioning systems Irrigation management and cultural practices for high value crops Remotely sensing impacts of cropping systems on water quality Livestock waste management Field and watershed scale water quality management The following 1999 plot plans are shown in .DWF format and require a viewer. More Information 1999 Center Pivot Irrigation Research Plot Plan, Revision M, June 14,1999 1999 Center Pivot Irrigation Research Plot Plan, Revision P, September 27,1999 Nesson Valley Potato Project-- Irrigation Water Management Management Practices to Maintain Dry Bean Grain Quality |
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| Optimized expeller pressing of crambe seed | |||
| Expeller pressing of niche oilseeds is of interest to ND processors such as AgGrow Oils (or its successor) to produce high quality oils for the organic food market. Preparation of crambe seed by cooking is a key step to optimize expeller pressing. Cooking indices were developed based on change in soluble protein and enzyme activity. These indices can be used in models for identifying under-and overcooked crambe seed in advance of pressing. It was also found that dehulling to 83% level significantly improved expeller performance for crambe, both in terms of overall oil recovery and residual oil in meal. Dehulling, cooking, and expelling in combination achieved oil yields up to 87%. | |||
| Human food uses of flaxseed | |||
| An expert panel on food safety and nutrition recently highlighted flaxseed as one of ten promising plant sources that may reduce risk of cancer, especially breast cancer, and of heart disease. This project is directed towards increasing flaxseed utilization by developing methods to produce flaxseed fractions enriched in secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG), the lignin with desirable properties. Dry mechanical processes are being developed to obtain flaxseed fractions (particularly the hull) containing enriched SDG content. In tests, SDG content was boosted from 12.9 and 14.3 g/kg in Neche and Omega flax seed to 27.6 and 23.8 g/kg, respectively. | |||
| Sunflower quality sensing and processing | |||
| Over 50% of U.S. confection sunflower production is located in ND, however, human consumption of confection sunflower as a snack food is steadily declining. Fat-reduced confection sunflowers have the potential to recapture market share lost by full-fat kernels. Processes (pressing combined with solvent extraction) were developed that can remove 95% of the original oil in the seeds. A second study is developing an on-line sensor for oil content prediction of confection sunflower. This sensor has further potential to be used for on-the-go oil content sensing during harvest and in related precision farming applications. | |||
| Recovery of protein products from agricultural biomass | |||
| Waste streams from processing of agricultural products contain large sources of valuable protein products. Potato processing in ND produces protein-rich waste. Potato waste has been used as a model feedstock to isolate patatin, the major storage protein in potato tubers. Purified patatin has potential to be used as a novel biological agent against microbial infection and insect attack of plant tissue. | |||
| Computer imaging for evaluation of spray coverage on plant targets | |||
| Scab disease is a major threat to wheat and barley production in ND. This new technology will assist researchers and farmers in developing more effective disease control and chemical application techniques. Current work includes development of a small and portable imaging system and associated image processing technology for accurate spray coverage determination on sprayed wheat and barley heads. Image segmentation is critical to accurate coverage determination. A new algorithm achieves accuracy with minimum error of 1-2%. | |||
| Sugarbeet yield monitoring with global positioning systems | |||
| Sugarbeets are a high value crop in the Red River Valley of ND and MN and as an irrigated crop in northwestern ND. Site-specific yield monitoring of corn and small grains as a precision farming management tool has become quite wide spread. However, little yield monitoring work has been done for crops such as sugarbeets. A sugarbeet yield monitoring system with GPS has been developed and tested. Yields can be monitored to 95 percent accuracy. A sensing system proof of concept (patent pending) was also achieved for on-the-go or real-time sensing of sugar content in sugarbeets. | |||
| Irrigation management and cultural practices for high value crops | |||
| Irrigation development in ND is being driven by expanded potato production and processing. Producers need more information on crop rotations and associated management practices for profitability and groundwater quality protection. Computer programming and a manual was completed for a 2nd, revised edition of irrigation scheduling software. A new 2-tower center pivot system was installed at the Carrington REC to initiate irrigation scheduling, fertility management, and crop variety studies for determining best yield and quality results for potatoes, onions, and dry beans. Funding was also obtained to continue long term sampling of ground water quality impacts of selected BMPs under two center pivot irrigated test fields near Oakes, ND. | |||
| Remotely sensing impacts of cropping systems on water quality | |||
| This study has potential to enhance the integration of remote sensing technologies for precision farming applications. Aerial images of the Oakes Irrigation Test Area (OITA) have been obtained for spectral signature analyses. Statistical features have been used as inputs to neural networks for predicting yield. Highest accuracies have been achieved using only the R, G, and B bands. | |||
| Livestock waste management | |||
| Manure production by about 2 million cattle and a quarter million swine in ND is impacting water quality in many watersheds. Thus, improved manure management technology is essential to environment protection. The most desirable method of manure management in ND is to optimize its beneficial use in land application to provide nutrients for crop production. This project is developing simple methods for determining manure nutrient value at the time that it is removed from storage systems and applied to the land. Accuracies were good for beef and swine manure, but poor for dairy manure. | |||
| Field and watershed scale water quality management | |||
| In rural ND domestic water supplies largely come from groundwater. Studies of water quality in ND show that approximately 10% of groundwater supplies are high in nitrate. This study is linking a geographic information system (GIS) to a vadose zone transport model to predict transport of nitrates from plant root zones. Calibrations and validations are being done in conjunction with a project being conducted by USDA-ARS (at Mandan), Ag & Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science Extension personnel that is evaluating variable rate application of nitrogen fertilizer in a spring wheat/winter wheat/sunflower rotation. | |||