Oviposition Decisions by Red Flour Beetle [Tribolium castaneum]

The red flour beetle [Tribolium castaneum] and the confused flour beetle [Tribolium confusum] are very important flour pest. We tested if the red flour beetle can discriminate between flour infested by the same species or congeneric species and lay different number of eggs. Results of the choice tests were inconclusive, because oviposition across all the treatments was very low. Future research will be needed manipulating the female age and the length of time in the arenas to be able to address the proposed question. With this future research, it will hopefully help us better understand how these beetles exploit flour patches and improve management in flour mills

Assessment of the suitability of different cassava varieties for gari and fufu flour production in Liberia

Open Access Article; Published online: 15 Feb 2020Different cassava varieties are available in Liberia, but there is little knowledge of their product suitability. Hence, the need to assess the potentials of these varieties to produce gari and fufu flour. The two products from ten improved and two local cassava varieties were characterized based on their yield and chemical, pasting and functional properties using standard methods. The results showed that TMS 96/0097 (gari 27.54%) and Butter cassava (fufu flour 27.35%) have the highest percentage yields. The starch content was higher in gari produced from TMS98/0505 (92.00%) and lower from TMS95/0289 (82.62%); the fufu flour starch content was higher in TMS98/0505 (90.59%) and lower in Bassa girl (84.75%). Gari and fufu flour produced from TMS96/0097 (507.38 RUV) and TMS00/0357 (506.04 RVU) had the highest final viscosity, and the products from TMS95/0289 (338.46 RVU and 336.80 RVU) had the least. The highest swelling power was found in gari (12.74%) and fufu flour (13.55%) produced from TMS92/0057 and the lowest in TMS91/0416 gari (8.23%) and TMS01/1235 fufu flour (8.31%). All the samples may form a paste below the boiling point of water (100°C) at < 7 min. However, cassava varieties and the interactions between varieties and locations had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the properties of the products: Chemical (except ash content), pasting (except pasting temperature) and functional. Therefore, all the varieties may be suitable for gari and fufu flour production based on the quality preferred by the consumers

Genetic Effects on Aggregation Behavior of Beetles

Aggregations of insects can often cause problems because they consume large amounts of resources. Species like the Red Flour Beetle are particularly damaging because they can invade locations where humans store food (Lles 2018). Interestingly, different genetic strains of the Red Flour Beetle produce different amounts of aggregation pheromone (Gerken, Scully, Campbell 2018). Here, we tested if two different genetic strains of Red Flour Beetle formed aggregates based on their genetic background or their recent living environments. We found that beetles aggregated based on genetic factors, with environmental conditions being relatively weak. These data suggest that understanding the genetic background of pest insects can shed light on their behavior

The Study of Influence of Aronia Additives on Functional-technological Properties of Wheat Flour

The expedience of the use of aronia in technology of short dough products as a source of vitamins, mineral, pectin substances, phenol compounds, easily assimilated sugars, organic acids and so on was substantiated. To study the influence of aronia additives on the main receipt component of short dough (wheat flour) there was elaborated an algorithm of the study that includes theoretical analysis and physical-chemical experiment. The expedience of introduction of aronia as a powder directly into wheat flour was theoretically grounded. The methods of estimation of the content of polyphenol compounds, influence of aronia additives on amylolytic and proteolytic activity of wheat flour, its sugar-creating ability, were selected. The methods of experiment planning and mathematical processing of experimental data were realized using computer program MS Excel 97 2003.In was established, that the aronia additive weakens the gluten of wheat flour and prevents the swelling of gluten proteins. It positively influences the process of short dough formation and provides a possibility of its storage during the long time until baking. The use of aronia additives in technology of short dough products allows not only raise their food value but also improve the quality of short dough

Inbreeding Affects on Beetle Clustering

The Red Flour Beetle (Tribolium castaneum; Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is a common pest in many grain mills (Baldwin and Fasulo 2010) and found wherever grains or other dried foods are stored (Schröder 2008). The Red Flour Beetle ”facilitates genetic analysis with ease of culture, a short life cycle, high fecundity and facility for genetic crosses, allowing efficient genetic screens (Schröder 2008).” This can allow for them to have a strong genetic code the longer that they are bred in the lab. So, for this experiment we will be trying to see what affect inbreeding has on the aggregation behavior in the Red Flour Beetle. The purpose of this experiment is to see how genetic background influences grouping behavior. Two different strains of Tribolium castaneum were used in this experiment. The one strain used was the Hudson Red Flour Beetle which originates from Hudson, Kansas. They have been bred in the lab for 10 years. The other beetle that was used is the NDG Red Flour Beetle, which originates from Manitoba, Canada and has been in the lab 30 years. After completing this experiment, our findings are that the Hudson are considerably more light sensitive than the Hudson and as soon as light hit them they become very active. There was a noticeably higher percentage of NDG beetles that would cluster together and when they clustered they only clustered with their own strain. This leads us to believe that the NDG beetles have stronger aggregation behavior due to the significant amount of time they have been in lab breeding, compared to the Hudson beetle. The inbreeding that occurred might of allowed for the beetles to develop a more similar genetic code that allows them to group together more easily

PENGARUH SUBTITUSI TEPUNG IKAN DENGAN TEPUNG KEONG MAS (Pomaceae canaliculata) PADA PAKAN TERHADAP RASIO KONVERSI PAKAN, RETENSI PROTEIN DAN RASIO EFISIENSI PROTEIN IKAN LELE DUMBO (Clarias gariepinus)

This research executed in laboratory indoor faculty of husbanry - fishery in university muhammadiyah of Malang on 1 - 28 Decembers 2008. Intention of this research to know substitution influence of flour keong fish with flour keong mas ( Pomacea canaliculata) at feed to feed conversion ratio, retention of protein and fish protein efficiency ratio lele dumbo ( Clarias gariepinus). Method applied is experiment method and design of experiments applied is completely randomized design ( RAL) with 5 treatment that is: comparison of substitution of flour keong mas with fish meal is p1 0 % : 100 %, p2 25 % : 75 %, p3 50 % : 50 %, p4 75 % : 25 %, p5 100 : 0 % and each repeated 3 times. Result of research shows flour keong mas as substitution of fish gives result influential very real to feed conversion ratio ( FCR), retention of protein ( RP) and protein efficiency ratio ( REP) fish lele dumbo ( Clarias gariepinus). Test result bnt ( smallest reality difference) feed conversion ratio of fish lele dumbo shows treatment p1, p2 and p3 differs in to treatment of p4 and p5. Treatment of p2 yields ratio value fcr is low by 2,68. Test result bnt for retention of fish protein lele dumbo shows treatment p1, p2 and p3 differs in to treatment of p4 and p5. Treatment of p2 yields retention value of highest protein equal to 43,19%. test result bnt feed efficiency ratio shows treatment p1, p2 and p3 differs in to treatment of p4 and p5. treatment of p2 shows value is highest 1,25 %. Level of survival rate at treatment of p1 equal to 93,33%, treatment of p2 equal to 90%, treatment of p3 and p5 83,33 and treatment of p4 equal to 80%. To obtain maximum result at feed conversion ratio, retention of protein and protein efficiency ratio and can cost effective feed production better apply is feed with substitution of flour keong mas equal to 50%

Eco-friendly approach and potential biodegradable polymer matrix for WPC composite materials in outdoor application

Blends based on high density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly(lactic) acid (PLA) with different ratios of both polymers were produced: a blend with equal amounts of HDPE and PLA, hence 50 wt.% each, proved to be a useful compromise, allowing a high amount of bio-derived charge without this being too detrimental for mechanical properties and considering its possibility to biodegradation behaviour in outdoor application. In this way, an optimal blend suitable to produce a composite with cellulosic fillers is proposed. In the selected polymer blend, wood flour (WF) was added as natural filler in the proportion of 20, 30 and 40 wt.%, considering as 100 the weight of the polymer blend matrix. Two compatibilizers to modify both HDPE-PLA blend and wood-flour/polymer interfaces i.e. polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride and a random copolymer of ethylene and glycidyl methacrylate. The most suitable percentage of compatibilizer for HDPE-PLA blends appears to be 3 wt.%, which was selected also for use with wood flour. In order to evaluate properties of blends and composites tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermo-gravimetric analyses and infrared spectroscopy have been performed. Wood flour seems to affect heavy blend behaviour in process production of material suggesting that future studies are needed to reduce defectiveness

Grouping of Red Flour Beetles using two Different Strains

In this research project I studied how the Red Flour Beetle grouped over a 10 day time period with two different strains of the Beetle. One strain was the Canadian Red Flour Beetle and the other was the Manhattan, KS Red Flour Beetle. The grouping of the beetles is a behavior that is being tested in this experiment and can be greatly effected by both environment and genetics (Breed & Sanchez, 2010). Thus for this experiment I ask if different strains of the Red Flour Beetle aggregate differently and hypothesize that they will end up aggregating differently. After testing this question and hypothesis I found that The different strains do aggregate differently and this could be due to the different climates at which they are normally found. The Canadian lives in an overall lower temperature year round unlike the Kansas beetle (Baldwin & Fasulo, 2014). With this knowledge grain facilities will be able to better prevent infestations of this particular beetle (Gerken, Scully, &Campbell, 2018)