Effect of Blending Amaranth Grain with Maize Kernels on Maize Weevil Control during Storage

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2020-01-01
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Brumm, Thomas
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Bern, Carl
University Professor Emeritus
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Rosentrater, Kurt
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Raman, D. Raj
Morrill Professor
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Center for Crops Utilization Research
In the 1980s a crisis existed in American farming—a crisis of overproduction, underutilization, and decreasing international market share for raw commodities. Also, the United States’ growing dependence on imported oil and long-term forecasts for increasing oil prices put America at risk. To address this crisis, Center for Crops Utilization Research (CCUR) was established in 1984 through a special appropriation from the Iowa legislature. The center was tasked to respond to the urgent need to improve America’s agricultural competitiveness. Four decades later, there are new opportunities to increase demand for Iowa’s crops. Consumer demand is increasing for new healthful food ingredients, biobased alternatives to petroleum-based products, and sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial processes. The rapid advancement of new food processing technologies and industrial biotechnology enable those demands to be met in an economically viable way. While CCUR’s core mission of increasing demand for Iowa crops remains relevant, the center is also taking these opportunities to grow our connection with companies and entrepreneurs to help them to test, troubleshoot, and optimize their ideas in an industrial-friendly setting.
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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.

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In 1905 Agricultural Engineering was recognized as a subdivision of the Department of Agronomy, and in 1907 it was recognized as a unique department. It was renamed the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 1990. The department merged with the Department of Industrial Education and Technology in 2004.

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1905–present

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  • Department of Agricultural Engineering (1907–1990)

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Food Science and Human NutritionCenter for Crops Utilization ResearchAgricultural and Biosystems EngineeringEnvironmental ScienceSustainable AgricultureCenter for Bioplastics and BiocompositesCenter for Crops Utilization Research
Abstract

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) is used as a vegetable, food, forage, and sometimes an ornamental. Amaranth grain has higher protein content than other cereals, making it a good choice for human consumption. Maize is among the three most widely grown grains in the world, but it can experience large postharvest losses during storage due to infestation by the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais). Due to the small size of amaranth seeds, this study postulated that amaranth grain can be blended with maize during storage to fill the intergranular spaces between maize kernels, reducing the overall void volume to minimize maize weevil movements to access the kernels, and thereby controlling the maize weevil population. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects on maize weevil control of blending maize with amaranth grain during storage versus storing maize alone. Three 208 L (55 gal) steel barrels were loaded with 160 kg (353 lb) of maize, and three were loaded with a maize-amaranth mixture (1:1 by volume), all with initial weevil populations of 25 live weevils per kg of maize. Blending maize with amaranth for storage reduced the number of live weevils after 160 days by 66% compared to storing maize alone. Additional reduction of live weevils could be accomplished if the maize were completely covered by amaranth grain, further restricting maize weevil access to the maize kernels.

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This article is published as Bbosa, Denis, Thomas J. Brumm, Carl J. Bern, Kurt A. Rosentrater, and D. Raj Raman. "Effect of Blending Amaranth Grain with Maize Kernels on Maize Weevil Control during Storage." Transactions of the ASABE 63, no. 2 (2020): 401-406. DOI: 10.13031/trans.13614. Posted with permission.

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Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2020
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