
Test to Detect Grain Insects Tops List of
Postdoc ProjectsBy Linda McGrawWASHINGTON, Dec. 24--Coming up with improved tests to detect insects
and insect fragments in stored-grain products with high technology sensors tops
the list of 50 proposals selected by the Agricultural Research Service for its 1999
Postdoctoral Research Associate Program. ARS, the U.S. Department of
Agricultures chief scientific agency, has allocated $4 million to
fund the 50 projects selected from more than 300 proposals from ARS scientists.
Each ARS scientist whose proposal was accepted will receive $80,000 to hire
a postdoc for two years of high-priority research. The postdoc proposals enable us to direct more of our limited funds to
meet our most significant research needs. At the same time, we can provide
postdocs an opportunity to do cutting-edge science alongside veteran
researchers," said ARS Administrator Floyd P. Horn. Each year, the
proposals submitted by scientists show remarkable quality. This years top-ranked proposal was submitted by ARS entomologist
James E. Throne for improved
tests for early detection of stored-product insects in grain and grain
products, such as wheat and wheat flour. Damage from larvae of the lesser grain
borer, rice weevil and maize weevil costs the U.S. wheat industry about $500
million annually. For submitting the top proposal, Throne will receive the agencys T. W.
Edminster Award, which includes a plaque and a second year of postdoctoral
research funding. Cooperating with Throne are entomologist
James E. Baker and agricultural
engineer Floyd E. Dowell. All three scientists are with the agencys
Grain Marketing and Production Research
Center in Manhattan, Kan. The tests will use a technology called
near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Thrones proposal was one of the top six of the 50 research proposals
accepted for funding. The other five are from: Robert R. Martin of ARS' Horticultural Crops Research Unit in
Corvallis, Ore., to study the transmission of raspberry bushy dwarf virus,
which infects red and black raspberries throughout the world.
Scientific contact: Edward B. Knipling, associate administrator,
Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C., phone (202) 720-3656. Story contacts Horticultural Crops Research Ann M Callahan U.S. Department of Agriculture | |