USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) – Plains Area

The cultivar has the desired traits of high oleic chemistry, and enhanced pod and seed size. The cultivar was developed for optimal performance in Oklahoma and Texas.

A tall fescue DH66OP possessing an L. multiflorum cytoplasm that can enhance or induce rhizome formation across various genotypes. DH66OP may allow for the transfer the L. multiflorum cytoplasm to additional tall fescue genotypes for the recovery of genotypes expressing rhizomes.

Benefits
• Rhizomatous forms of any grass turf or forage are highly desirable since the rhizomes represent rapidly spreading tillers that can fill voids in turf or pastures without the need for reseeding

Applications
• DH66OP may be used as the maternal parent in a hybridization with another plant, such as a Fescue sp. or Lolium sp. Plant to produce rhizomatous plant materials or hybrids

This system provides a novel approach to quality management in plant-based products. Plants do not always do what we want. Sometimes stress is needed to get the human-desired outcome. This system consists of a combination of physiological information, plant temperature and water status, and an irrigation controller. The system allows a user to continuously monitor and manage the progress of the plant toward a desired quality outcome.

Benefits
• Allows for the precise imposition and management of plant thermal and water stress.
• Allows for management of quality-related plant outcomes in a highly reliable manner.
• Useful in greenhouse and field settings
• Automated

Applications
• Quality-related factors such as aromatics and taste parameters can be associated with plant status and modified over a season.
• Provides water at minimum amounts to achieve desired outcome (product)

A novel process for enhancing rainfall has been invented using only tap water. The water is electrically charged before it is released into warm continental or maritime convective clouds with an agricultural aircraft. This technique has been shown to double the amount of additional rainfall generated compared to conventional cloud seeding methods.

Benefits
• Doubles the additional rainfall generated by cloud seeding compared to conventional methods
• Uses only tap water instead of silver iodide or calcium chloride
• Operating costs are greatly reduced

Applications
• Effective, cost efficient and environmentally friendly method of enhancing rainfall from warm continental or maritime convective clouds

A cadherin peptide that enhances the toxicity of Cry proteins. The approach uses a peptide fragment derived from an insect cadherin protein combined with Bacillus thuringiensis Cry protein toxin to work as an insecticide against coleopterans and lepidopteran species.

Benefits
• An increase in synergistic potency that would not be achieved via administration of the partial cadherin fragment or Cry protein individually

Applications
• Control of coleopteran and lepidopteran pests

An integrated set of sensors, microprocessor, and devices with software that remotely measures surface temperature and simultaneously acquires an image for the purposes of qualifying the sensed temperature. The system can be used to aide in precision irrigation management of center pivot or lateral move irrigation systems by providing surface temperature data for use in irrigation scheduling algorithms and automatic irrigation. The system can also be used in greenhouse environments and in drip irrigated fields to help monitor plant abiotic (drought, chemical) and biotic stresses (disease, insect infestation).

Benefits

Applications

A process of utilizing machine vision for processing in a cotton gin monitors a flow of lint and trash anywhere throughout the cotton gin without impeding or detaining product flow, the measurement being made in real time. A video camera or other electronic photography device takes a multi-spectral image of the trash and lint passing through the cotton gin. The multi-spectral image of the trash and lint is partitioned using spectral values into a trash portion, a lint portion, and at least a third image. In turn, at least the image of trash and lint are themselves formed into a binary image from each of the partitioned images. Thereafter, the binary images of the trash portion and the lint portion to determine the ratio of trash to total lint in the flow of lint and trash. The binary image of the trash can be separately processed to determine the relative amounts of sticks, leaves and burrs present in the trash. This enables individual component control in the serial flow through gins and multiple similar components such as incline cleaners, stick cleaners, and lint cleaners. Further, the binary image of the lint can be spectrally analyzed to determine spatial frequency content of the binary image of the lint portion. This spatial frequency content can be utilized to identify color and tinge of the cotton enabling a processing gin to value probable product output in real time.

A novel, two-line breeding system based on a stable nuclear male sterile mutant ms8 and its gene. The breeding system is efficient because it doesn’t require breeding for A/B pair or R lines.

Benefits
• Sorghum hybrids can be created by pollinating the bridge plants with any elite line or natural collection
• Simplified breeding process and more hybrid vigor
• Avoid devastating diseases that attack sorghum hybrids made with A1 cytoplasm

Applications
• Efficiently create hybrids for any type of sorghum, especially for biomass or special use sorghums, for which the traditional three breeding system is not well-established.