Project : USDA ARS

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Research Project: Advancing Technologies for Grain Trait Measurement and Storage Preservation

Location: Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research

2025 Annual Report

Objectives
OBJECTIVE 1: Improve stored grain management, technology and processing practices to maintain grain end-use quality by controlling or eliminating adverse storage environments, insect infestations. Sub-objective 1A: Develop an insect monitoring and identification device for behavioral study and pest management in food facility environments. Sub-objective 1B: Increase efficacy of fumigation of milled and whole grain products through improved monitoring and modeling of fumigant applications. Sub-objective 1C: Increase efficacy of insecticidal aerosol applications in grain processing facilities based on measurement and modeling of droplet distribution and deposition. OBJECTIVE 2: Resolve existing issues and develop new technologies and techniques to rapidly and accurately evaluate intrinsic grain and seed quality to improve breeding efficiency, marketability, end-product use and environmental influences. Sub-objective 2A: Develop imaging methods for the detection of hard vitreous amber color (HVAC) of Durum wheat seeds as a replacement for manual wheat inspection. Sub-objective 2B: Selecting maize seeds for breeding programs using single seed near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) to improve hybrid development.

Approach
United States farmers annually (2016-2018) grow 562 million metric tons of corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum and other grains to supply the nation and the world with food, animal feed and biofuels. Our project goal is to improve U.S. grain quality and international competitiveness through the application of engineering principles to rapidly measure grain traits and to maintain grain and grain-based product quality after harvest. We propose to develop unique instrumented systems to rapidly measure quality or compositional traits for breeders when selecting traits for varietal development. We also propose to develop technology to detect and control insects and maintain product quality during handling, processing and storage. This research will lead to expedited development of varieties and hybrids by breeders; better systems and information for storage management by farmers and processors, resulting in better profitability and production efficiency, less waste and increased food availability using fewer resources.

Progress Report
ARS researchers in Manhattan, Kansas, continued work to improve stored grain management technology by developing processing practices to maintain grain end-use quality and by controlling or eliminating adverse storage environments and insect infestations under Objective 1. Under Objective 2, work continued to develop new technologies and techniques that rapidly and accurately evaluate intrinsic grain and seed traits to improve breeding efficiency which has direct links to marketability, end-product use, and environmental influences. In addressing Sub-objective 1A, research was continued to develop automated systems to detect and identify common, destructive pests of stored grain products that have similar sizes, shapes, and colors, such as sawtoothed grain beetle, lesser grain borer, red flour beetle, maize weevil, and rusty grain beetle. By refining AI models developed in previous years, it became possible to identify and differentiate insect species based on specific body parts (like antennae). This is important because insect bodies are often damaged and incomplete in traps and an ability to identify species based on body parts can lead to improved species identification and the implementation of better pest management practices. Moreover, despite using an inexpensive camera, our model achieved 97.4 % in accurately identifying these five species. Ultimately, the incorporation of these technologies into field-scale pest monitoring systems will revolutionize the management of stored-product insects, resulting in enhanced food safety, decreased losses, and more effective pest control tactics. Improved fumigation efficiency was achieved under Sub-objective 1B through improved monitoring. Monitoring of phosphine gas concentrations in hopper bottom railcars carrying corn grits using wireless phosphine gas sensors was conducted through collaboration with grain processing and rail transport partners. By this monitoring effectiveness of the phosphine fumigation during transit could be assessed. The results provide guidance to grain processors and transport carriers about appropriate placement of the phosphine generating formulations and sensors to maintain phosphine concentration levels and allow for the detection of gas leakage in real-time. Additional tests and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of the fumigation concentrations in railcars and in shipping containers are currently in progress and will improve best practices for pesticide and fumigant applicators. CFD modeling has also been used to evaluate uniformity in distribution of phosphine gas in covered outdoor grain piles, which serve as overflow grain storage at elevators and co-ops. More uniform airflow indicates that the phosphine gas fumigant is distributed uniformly throughout the grain mass thus being much more effective. Extension of this modeling research to monitoring leakage of fumigant into the immediate environment around fumigated facilities is also being initiated. The spatial distribution of aerosol insecticidal spray was measured in Sub-objective 1C, which can be used to control insects in areas that cannot be easily fumigated. By measuring the levels of active ingredients (methoprene and pyrethrin) collected in filter papers placed in petri dishes distributed in a grid on the floor of a research flour mill, distribution patterns were revealed that can be used to develop operational guidelines for applicators of pesticide in grain and food facilities. We also used this data to develop computational fluid dynamics simulations of pyrethrin aerosol deposition. The modeling results with pyrethrin showed that the predicted deposition of the aerosol increased with increasing droplet size, largely due to inertial and gravitational effects. Moreover, deposition efficiencies decreased with higher flow rates. Results of this study can be used to improve aerosol application methods for stored product insect control. Under Objective 2, work continued to develop new technologies and techniques that rapidly and accurately evaluate intrinsic grain and seed traits to improve breeding efficiency which has direct links to marketability, end-product use, and environmental influences. An imaging method for the detection of hard vitreous amber color (HVAC) of durum wheat seeds developed in Sub-objective 2A was applied in collaboration with an ARS wheat breeder as a potential method for measuring hardness. In this technology, back-lit transmission images revealed the internal components of a durum wheat seed and allowed for the measurement of the ratio of vitreous and floury or (hard and soft endosperm) and germ, which is correlated with hardness. This methodology was tried with sorghum grains, but in this case, the backlight did not transmit through the seed. Thus, the amount of the vitreous and floury endosperm had to be measured from reflectance images of the seeds sectioned longitudinally through the germ face, which can be tedious. However, should the ratio of vitreous endosperm to floury endosperm correlate with hardness of the seed, then the procedure of obtaining workable images can be simplified through the use of an automated sectioning tool or a higher intensity light source that would pass light through the more opaque sorghum seed. Finally, work continued on methods to rapidly evaluate corn hybrids under Sub-objective 2B. Near infrared spectroscopy instrumentation that was designed and developed to select maize haploid seeds was used to screen additional corn breeding lines developed by collaborators in Iowa and Florida from the 2024 field season. Application of this instrument has also been extended to predicting protein content in wheat and sorghum.

Accomplishments
1. Monitoring of phosphine concentration in railcars during transit. Railcars are a common means of transporting grain and grain-based commodities in the U.S. for human food and animal feed. Treatment of railcars with fumigants during transit prevents infestation by insects during transport, thereby reducing economic and qualitative losses. However, assuring fumigation efficacy is problematic largely due to the lack of gas monitoring sensors that can be effectively used in railcars. ARS researchers in Manhattan, Kansas, tested new wireless electronic sensors in railcars loaded with corn grits that were fumigated with phosphine and showed that gas concentrations routinely reached and maintained effective treatment levels in transit, minimizing damage by insects. These findings provide producers with proof that phosphine fumigations can be successfully performed in railcars and with reliable ways to monitor gas levels in real-time during transit so that additional fumigant can be added if gas concentrations drop below effective levels.

2. Developing effective milling procedure for sorghum. Sorghum grain is increasingly being incorporated into human food products because it is gluten free and can be safely consumed by people with celiac disease. However, the lack of effective milling techniques for sorghum limits its usage in some human food products, as most existing milling methods were adopted from other cereal grains and yield inferior sorghum flour quality. ARS researchers in Manhattan, Kansas, developed new tempering techniques that can be applied prior to milling that enhance flour characteristics and yield high-quality sorghum flour. This flour is suitable for inclusion in a wider variety of gluten-free products like snack cakes and breads.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research: Manhattan, KS