Agricultural dust explosions in 2009

There were 8 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2009 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 19 in 2008 and a ten-year average of 9.5 explosions

Agricultural dust explosions in 2010

There were 11 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2010 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 8 in 2009 and a ten-year average of 9.8 explosions per year

Agricultural dust explosions in 2011

There were 9 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2011 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 11 in 2010 and a ten-year average of 9.8 explosions

Agricultural dust explosions in 2012

There were 10 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2012 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 9 in 2011 and a ten-year average of 10.0 explosions

Agricultural dust explosions in 2014

There were seven dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2014 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 7 in 2013 and a ten-year average of 10.0 explosions

Developing a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to Predict the Contamination of GM Corn in Non-GM Corn

The current rate of population growth necessitates the use of viable technologies like genetic modification to address estimated global food and feed requirements. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in resistance against the diffusion of genetic modification technology around the world. Many countries have adopted coexistence policies to allow a certain percentage of adventitious presence in non-genetically modified crops. However, the tolerance percentage for adventitious presence has been a bottleneck to free trade in some cases. It is a challenging task to fix a tolerance percentage considering the level of permeation of genetic modification technology in agriculture. This article introduces a software developed to serve as a decision-making tool to predict the probability distribution of genetically modified (GM) contamination in non-GM grain lot using user inputs such as final quantity of processed corn, overall tolerance level, and moisture content. The output from the software includes the mass of corn in each processing stage, the tolerance level and the probability distribution of potential GM contamination. The software predicted the probability of contamination with adventitious presence at tolerance levels of 5.0%, 3.0%, 1.0%, 0.9%, 0.5%, and 0.1% as 0.05, 0.07, 0.11, 0.12, 0.16, and 0.36, respectively. The predictions from the model were compared to a similar study wherein the effect of tolerance levels incurred in the costs of segregation was studied. The mean absolute percentage error for the predictions was found to be 3.07%. This software can be used as a tool in testing GM contamination in non-GM grain against a desired threshold levels in a grain elevator

Agricultural dust explosions in 2013

There were seven dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2013 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 10 in 2012 and a ten-year average of 9.9 explosions

Agricultural dust explosions in 2012

There were 10 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2012 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 9 in 2011 and a ten-year average of 10.0 explosions

Agricultural dust explosions in 2006

There were 9 dust explosions reported in the U.S. in 2006 according to Kingsly Ambrose, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University. This compares to 13 in 2005 and a ten-year average of 10.2 explosions

Increasing Maize Tolerance to Drought and Flood with Seed Coating Treatments

The lack of irrigation in regions prone to drought, and flooding due to high rainfall or lack of drainage affects seed viability and the subsequent germination and crop establishment. Seed treatment in the form of coatings shows promise as an effective method to preserve the viability of corn (Zea mays) seeds in drought and flood conditions. Chemical formulations may help improve the seed corn vigor under these stressed conditions. This study examined the efficacy of β-aminobutyric acid [BABA] and N-isopropylacrylamide [NIPA] in inducing drought resistance, as well as the ability of lanolin and linseed oil to provide flood tolerance for seed corn. Germination rates and linear shoot growth measurements were used as indications of seed vigor. Uniform coatings of the treatments were applied to untreated seed corn, and treated seed performance was compared to an uncoated control batch of seeds. Water imbibition, moisture, and temperature were manipulated to replicate drought, flood, and optimal growth conditions. The preliminary results of these experiments indicate that these coatings did not significantly increase the viability during short-terms of stressed conditions. At suboptimal temperatures, uncoated control seeds displayed significantly higher seed vigor and growth rates. Manipulation of coating thickness and/or testing at more intense stress levels may be necessary for coating treatments to exhibit positive effects on corn seed resistance to drought and flood