1,848 research outputs found
Rabbits in the Karri country - Some Recollections of 30 years of Vermin Control in the Lower J South-West
Rabbits first made their appearance in various parts of the Manjimup Road Board District during 1925 and 1926. By 1928, the early arrivals appeared to have consolidated their position and increased rapidly. The areas where rabbits first appeared in serious numbers were Group 119 in the Quinninup area, Groups 123 and 117 at Northcliffe, and Groups 65 and 26 in the Eastbrook, Pemberton and Channeberrup areas. Middlesex and West Manjimup districts were also becoming: infested
Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum Juice in Texas
The economic feasibility of producing ethanol from sweet sorghum juice is projected using Monte Carlo simulation models to estimate the price ethanol plants will likely have to pay for sweet sorghum and the uncertain returns for ethanol plants. Ethanol plants in high yielding regions will likely generate returns on assets of 11%-12% and in low yield areas the returns on assets will be less than 10%.Sweet Sorghum, Ethanol, Monte Carlo Simulation, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, D20 G10 D81 C15,
Evaluation of Sorghum Food Quality
Sorghum (S. bicolor L. Moench) is a staple
commodity in several parts of the world and ranks
fifth as a cereal crop in terms of production and
utilization. However, the food quality of sorghum
has not yet been clearly defined, probably because
it is not used in commercial foods to the
extent that wheat, rice, and maize are utilized. In
sorghum consuming areas, only limited quantities
of the product appears in metropolitan markets,
and there are few if any standards available to
distinguish grain quality, which is evaluated primarily
by subjective criteria such as kernel color,
appearance, size, and shape
Color of Sorghum Food Products
Color of sorghum milled products and foods is an important aspect of qualrty that must be measured Color measurements on sorghum grain, roti and tortilla samples using the Hunter
Lab Color Drfference Meter and the Munsell Soil Color Charts showed that Munsell Color Charts are effective for a rapid and inexpensive assessment of a large number of samples from quality breeding programs. It would be possible to obtain standardized color schemes to assess a wide array of sorghum food products among laboratories. Sophisticated instruments
such as the Hunter Lab Color Difference Meter can be used for fundamental studies to backup crop improvement programs
Tracing North Atlantic volcanism and seaway connectivity across the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
There is a temporal correlation between the peak activity of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) and the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), suggesting that the NAIP may have initiated and/or prolonged this extreme warming event. However, corroborating a causal relationship is hampered by a scarcity of expanded sedimentary records that contain both climatic and volcanic proxies. One locality hosting such a record is the island of Fur in Denmark, where an expanded pre- to post-PETM succession containing hundreds of NAIP ash layers is exceptionally well preserved. We compiled a range of environmental proxies, including mercury (Hg) anomalies, paleotemperature proxies, and lithium (Li) and osmium (Os) isotopes, to trace NAIP activity, hydrological changes, weathering, and seawater connectivity across this interval. Volcanic proxies suggest that NAIP activity was elevated before the PETM and appears to have peaked during the body of the δ13C excursion but decreased considerably during the PETM recovery. This suggests that the acme in NAIP activity, dominated by flood basalt volcanism and thermogenic degassing from contact metamorphism, was likely confined to just ∼ 200 kyr (ca. 56.0–55.8 Ma). The hundreds of thick (> 1 cm) basaltic ashes in the post-PETM strata likely represent a change from effusive to explosive activity, rather than an increase in NAIP activity. Detrital δ7Li values and clay abundances suggest that volcanic ash production increased the basaltic reactive surface area, likely enhancing silicate weathering and atmospheric carbon sequestration in the early Eocene. Signals in lipid biomarkers and Os isotopes, traditionally used to trace paleotemperature and weathering changes, are used here to track seaway connectivity. These proxies indicate that the North Sea was rapidly cut off from the North Atlantic in under 12 kyr during the PETM recovery due to NAIP thermal uplift. Our findings reinforce the hypothesis that the emplacement of the NAIP had a profound and complex impact on Paleocene–Eocene climate, both directly through volcanic and thermogenic degassing and indirectly by driving regional uplift and changing seaway connectivity
Phase ordering and roughening on growing films
We study the interplay between surface roughening and phase separation during
the growth of binary films. Already in 1+1 dimension, we find a variety of
different scaling behaviors depending on how the two phenomena are coupled. In
the most interesting case, related to the advection of a passive scalar in a
velocity field, nontrivial scaling exponents are obtained in simulations.Comment: 4 pages latex, 6 figure
Economic Analysis of Cellulosic Feedstock for Bioenergy in the Texas Rio Grande Valley
Farm Management,
Overcoming constraints to utilization of sorghum and millet
Sorghum and pearl millet are used in a wide variety o f traditional foods in the
semi-arid tropics. However, their use as food is declining in urban areas as wheat, rice,
and maize products become more plentiful. Lack o f a reliable supply o f high quality
grain for processing severely limits the acceptance o f sorghum and pearl millet.
Shelf-stable products are in short supply because the grains available for processing
are o f inferior quality. Technology is availablefor processing sorghum andpearl millet;
however, major extension and improved cultivars are needed. Other constraints to the
use o f sorghum and pearl millet include their image as “second class ” crops, the tannins
in sorghum, low cost imported wheat, rice, and maize, and government policies.
Breeders must work diligently to develop new cultivars, targeting total units o f useful
food or feed per hectare. Improved end-use quality will allow value-added processing,
which could improve farm income from identity-preserved grain
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Grain Quality
There has long been a need to review the present knowledge on the quality of
sorghum grain, especially since it is one of the major food grains of 700 million
people living under impoverished conditions in the semi-arid tropics.
To meet this need, ICRISAT hosted an International Symposium on Sorghum
Grain Quality in October 1981 at ICRISAT Center near Hyderabad, India. It was
sponsored by the USAID Title XII Collaborative Research Support Program on
Sorghum and Pearl Millet ( INTSORMIL) , the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research ( ICAR) ,and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT).
Participants interested in sorghum as a food who attended the Symposium
represented diverse disciplines: food technology, home economics, nutrition,
breeding, biochemistry, food processing, engineering, pathology, and economics,
and the topics included the existing knowledge on preparing sorghum as a food, its
grain structure and deterioration, milling and laboratory methods for evaluating
and improving food quality, nutrition, consumer acceptance, marketing, and
quality standards.
A wide range of sorghum grain types is used to prepare different solid and liquid
foods such as porridges, leavened and unleavened breads, snacks, beverages, and
beer. However, there are two major disadvantages of sorghum as a food—the
problems of nutrient uptake, and the constant drudgery involved in hand pounding
and hand grinding to make sorghum flour.
Sorghum grain quality is a complex subject. Only in recent years have
nutritionists and millers studied the problems associated wi t h sorghum. To replace
hand processing, several pilot projects using machines for pearling and grinding
are under way in some locations in Africa.
Increasingly, plant breeders are developing new varieties and hybrids. For
successful adoption of new cultivars by farmers, consumer acceptance is an
essential requirement. We need more information on why sorghum is accepted or
rejected as a food, and work still needs to be done to develop laboratory tests to
screen sorghum for food quality
- …