Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes of NE-1008 2005 Annual Meeting Place: Hilton Garden Inns, Kennewick, Washington Dates: July 6-7, 2006 Chair: Renfu Lu Secretary: Loren Gautz Hosts: Jumin Tang and Marvin Pitts Thursday, July 6, 2006 Field Tour: Left Kennewick, WA at 8:00 AM 1. Visited ConAgra's Lamb-Weston Research Center, Richland, WA. Jeff Schnieder explained connection between postharvest practices and quality of prepared potato products. Toured nearby processing plant and observed potatoes being taken from storage, sorted, and processed into frozen cross cut product. 2. Visited Snipes Mountain Micro-Brewery in Sunnyside, WA, where we heard a presentation on the use of quality hops for flavoring beverages during lunch. 3. Toured a hop processing facility (supercritical extraction) and a local hop farm (innovative harvesting), guided by Ann E. George of Washington Hops Commission 4. Toured Snokist cherry and apple packing facilities in Grandview, WA with Ms. Jovita Bixler, Quality Assurance Manager, explaining methods of quality control. 5. Toured WSU Research Vineyard, Prosser, WA with Julie Tarara describing experiments for crop load management and shade management. 6. Toured Hogue Cellars with Rick Hamman, Carlos Trevino, and Dave Copeland covering post harvest handling of the grapes and fermentaion control. Continued the discussion over dinner. Returned to Kennewick, WA at 9:30 PM Friday, July 7, 2006 Planning, Business meeting, and Station Reports: Columbia Room, Hilton Gardens Inn, Kennewick, WA. Attendees: Ralph Cavalieri, Carter Clary, Loren Gautz, Steve Goodwin, Dan Guyer, Yong Hang, Paul Hienneman, Yen-Con Hung, Gary Hyde, Naoshi Kondo, Renfu Lu, Kazuhiko Namba, Marvin Pitts, Ajit Srivastava, Juming Tang, Yang Tao, Shaojin Wang. Meeting started at 8:30 AM. Host Jumin Tang opened meeting with introduction of Ralph Cavalieri, Director of WSU ARC and Chief Editor of Postharvest Biology and Technology. R. Cavalieri gave an overview of Washington State Agriculture Research Centers and the agriculture it supports. He introduced the current problem with Federal funding opportunities; i.e. reduced levels and shift to competitive grants and then introduced Jim McFerson, Manager of Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. Jim McFerson presented the Tree Fruit Technology Roadmap; an agricultural industry initiative to increase funding for research in specialty crops. He emphasized importance of grower political action and ability of specialty crops to enhance the health of individuals and the health of communities. Both R. Cavalieri's and J. McFerson's presentations were video taped and available from Marvin Pitts (WA). Discussion of the "Roadmap" followed with following points made: Research is good. Public/private argument is moot. No need for tzar. Is there anything [funds] to compete for? Push science. Areas change without agencies seeing need for continuity Need order of magnitude increase in funding. International cooperation. Science and technology should be shared. Information technology is going to make more impact. Possible individual tree management It is a political and social problem. Committed to Land Grant idea. Need credible initiatives Be smart politically. Need some rational ideas from ASABE Business meeting called to order by Renfu Lu at 10:53 A group thank you was given to WSU team for an excellent meeting venue and technical tour. Paul Heinemann moved to approve 2005 minutes. Jumin Tang seconded. Motion passed without objection. Administrative advisor Steve Goodwin presented: Need to develop project as a truly collaborative Multi-State project. Competitive funding is the future although NRI not funded well Federal funds are going to health initiatives. Institutional hires being based on grant attraction. Indirect costs from NRI inadequate to achieve institutional notice. Dwindling formula funds are allocated at each Station. Limited by line positions and infrastructure items. On-farm work being encouraged Formula funds being moved to competitive programs. Emphasis on Multi-state projects: 25% of NRI funds. Integration and more "real" collaboration Discussion followed: Should show attempts at integration. Need theme. McFerson gave a good start in "Roadmap" Joint proposal to Washington Tree Fruit Research. Coordinating committee between Multi-State projects. No specialty crops committee in CREES. Labor issues. Robotics. New crops. Crop identification. Commercialization barrier. Provide leadership to political orgs on research needs and abilities. Pass through funding. Forget boundaries. Go for momentum and impacts. Always invite commodity groups. Is specialty crops right segment of industry? Loren Gautz moved a subcommittee develop a two-page description of what this project can provide to the fruit and vegetable industry. Yen-Con Hung seconded. Discussion preceded motion. Motion passed Steve Goodwin will coordinate; Ralph Cavalieri, Ajit Srivastava, and Renfu Lu volunteered to do work. Subcommittee needs, in bullet form, facilities, expertise and contacts in commodity groups from each Station. Send to Renfu Lu and/or Steve Goodwin by September 5. Document will be mailed out to commodity groups once a year. Specific projects for collaboration: Detect dextrose, starch, etc. in waste water. (Lamb-Weston suggestion) Loren Gautz will contact Marv Pitts (WA), Joseph Irudayaraj (IN), Darrel Donahue (ME), Renfu Lu (MI), and David Slaughter (CA). Vision system for crop management Loren Gautz will contact Gene Kupferman (WA), Dana Fabian, Paul Heinemann (PA), and David Slaughter (CA). Sorting crop in field. Yang Tao (MD) will take the lead. Renfu Lu has Israel contact to arrange for a BARD grant to conduct a Special Conference on Tree Fruit Automation. Yang Tao (MD) and Marv Pitts (WA) will assist. Feb deadline. Elected Marvin Pitts (WA) member at large Meeting next year will be hosted by California (committee's first preference) or Hawaii, with time at the discretion of the host station. Station reports: Md - Yang Tao reported an algorithm for stem and calyx detection. Also detecting fecal contamination using hyperspectral imaging. NY Geneva - Yong Hang reported on probiotic bacteria in juices, particularly L. plantarum. Also on the development of distilled spirits from grape and apple pomace. Ga - Yen-Con Hung reported electrolized water is useful surface cleaning of fresh fruits and vegetables of microbial contamination. Hi - Loren Gautz reported determination of conversion ratios and bulk densities of Kona coffee at each stage of processing from cherry to roasted bean. Also, dehumidifier drying of coffee bean. Me-Dan Guyer (for D Donahue) reported maggot detection using NIRS. MSU - Dan Guyer reported economics of chilling cherries. And insect detection using hyperspectral imaging. PSU - Paul Heinnemann reported sensor fusion of commercial electronic noses to detect damage in apples. MSU-ARS - Renfu Lu reported use of hyperspectral imaging for rating quality of apples and pickling cucumbers. Wa - Clary reported on tree crop management, selective asparagus harvesting, andfruit dehydration. Shaojin Wang reported radio frequency insect disinfestation of walnuts. Marv Pitts reported on FEM and measuring tensile properties of fruit. Japan - Naoshi Kondo reported Grading robot, traceability, mobile grading, tree management, and THz spectroscopy. Renfu Lu will collect station reports and consolidate for the NE-1008 Annual Report to CREES. Meeting adjourned at 4:30 pm

Objective 1) CA-Davis:Nondestructive optical properties of intact clingstone peaches were measured in the visible & near infrared regions in order to determine the engineering properties needed to develop a new nondestructive optical method for rapid determination of flesh color in clingstone peaches. The resulting method is suitable for flesh color grading tasks at inspection stations prior to canning & for on-line sorting tasks. A set of 617 fruit, consisting of four Californian clingstone peach cultivars, was studied. Multiple linear regression models were developed to predict CIE hue angle of the flesh using visible & near infrared absorbance values measured in interactance mode on the intact fruit. This non-destructive optical method predicted the flesh color w/ a standard error of calibration of 1.5 degrees (hue angle).GA:The procedure for determining modulus of elasticity (E) of convex food material using a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) was standardized by conducting research studies to identity specific equipment & steps that yielded the most accurate & repeatable results. For peaches the recommended process uses a specially designed instrument to find the radius of curvature & then uses a 12.7 mm diameter spherical indenter to compress fruit 10 mm at 15 mm/min when supported by a specially designed three-point holder. The value for E is calculated from the slope of the force deformation curve between a minimum of 0.5 N & the maximum force at 1.0 mm deformation. The specified steps also ensure the fruit is positioned w/ the point measured at the apex & is centered under the spherical indenter. HI: Taste panel & chemical data of coffee grown under three different levels of shade were collected. Models showing correlation of taste panel & chemical data are under development. The NIRS spectrometer was damaged during a flood & limited the acquisition of NIRS spectra of these samples. Next year: We will collect taste panel, chemical data, & NIR spectra of coffee grown under three different levels of shade & will attempt to correlate these data in predictive models.MI-ARS:Improvements were made to the hyperspectral imaging system & algorithms for measuring the optical properties (absorption & scattering coefficients) of turbid fruits & vegetables. A calibration method & procedure was developed to correct for the nonuniform instrument response. A mathematical equation was derived for accounting for the fruit size effect on scattering measurements. The improved algorithm no longer required reference samples to calibrate the imaging system, & it was validated w/ three types of liquid simulation samples of known optical properties. The average errors for measuring the absorption & scattering coefficients of the three types of simulation samples were 11% & 16%, respectively. Optical property data were measured from intact Golden Delicious apples, selected fruit & vegetable juices, & milk over the wavelengths 530-900 nm. Statistical analyses were performed relating absorption & scattering coefficients to fruit firmness & soluble solids content. Compared to other techniques currently available in biomedical research, the hyperspectral imaging technique is fast & relatively simple to use, & it is especially useful for rapid, noninvasive determination of the optical properties of horticultural products & other turbid food & agricultural products. Next year: Research will be focused on: 1) continuing to improve the accuracy & reliability of the data analysis method for determining the scattering & absorption coefficients of turbid food samples; 2) collecting optical properties data for selected horticultural & food products over the visible & near-infrared region between 500 nm & 1600 nm; & 3) developing simulation models to investigate & quantify light scattering & absorption in intact apple fruit. NY - Geneva:Production of grappa from grape pomace: We have demonstrated that the sweet pomace of five white grape varieties (Cayuga White, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Niagara & Riesling) is a suitable substrate for the production of grappa, a value-added distilled beverage containing 40% of ethanol. The methanol content of the grappa made from the pomace of grape varieties grown in the Finger Lakes Wine Region of New York State is significantly less than the U.S. legal limit of 280 mg/100 mL of 40% ethanol. Production of probiotic vegetable beverages: We have studied the growth & survival of lactic acid bacteria in vegetable juices. Of the four species of the bacteria examined, Lactobacillus plantarum grows most rapidly in beet, cabbage & tomato juices. The organism could lower the pH to below 4.5, & the viable cell counts could reach a billion per mL in 48 hours. The fermented products are still contain 40 million viable cells per mL after 4 wks of cold storage. The results of our work indicate that L. plantarum could be used in the production of healthy beverages for vegetarians & consumers who are allergic to fermented dairy products Next year: We are planning to conduct research on the value-added processing of apple pomace. Experiments will be carried out to determine if high-quality distilled apple spirits could be produced from apple pomace generated by the apple processing industry. Objective 2) CA-Davis:During the 2005 clingstone peach season a research project was conducted to evaluate the operational feasibility of using instruments to measure the flesh color & flesh firmness of clingstone peaches at California Cling peach inspection stations. Flesh color is known to be a good index of flavor & firmness an index of pitting damage in canning peaches. Currently, subjective methods are used to assess flesh color & flesh firmness at California Cling peach inspection stations, resulting in a lack of satisfaction w/ the inspection process by many in the industry. The flesh color & flesh firmness of over 6,800 Cling peaches were measured instrumentally in 2005 at many inspection stations in California & compared to the current official inspection methods of the California DFA. The agreement between the color instrument & the standard visual inspection method for maturity was 78% for single cut fruit & 71% for double cut fruit. For firmness, the agreement between the standard finger touch method of identifying soft fruit & the nondestructive instrumental method was 68.5% & 70% for the two instruments evaluated.The citrus industry is seeking an objective alternative to the USDA manual inspection method used by CDFA inspectors to determine freeze damage in Navel oranges. Research was conducted on the continued development of an objective sensing method for quantifying the existence of freeze damaged oranges within in a few days following a freeze event for use by California Ag Commissioners. Previous year's research showed that freeze damaged fruit produces ethanol & an inexpensive, hand-held, battery-operated ethanol detector was effective in measuring the ethanol (etoh) produced by freeze damaged oranges. Preliminary evaluations also indicated that a bench-top magnetic resonance system was also capable of differentiating between freeze damaged & non-damaged oranges. This year's research evaluated the effectiveness of these methods for identifying freeze damaged oranges within a few days of a freeze event using two Navel varieties (Atwood & Washington), w/ & without preharvest gibberillic acid (GA) treatment & w/ fruit harvested over the potential frost period from December through March. A test was conducted to determine if headspace ethanol concentrations change in the days following freeze injury. Fruit w/ no freeze damage & slight freezing had very stable etoh levels. More severly freeze damaged fruit showed increased etoh. The increased ethanol production appears to be associated w/ decay development. Discriminant analysis statistics were used to determine the optimum ethanol threshold for distinguishing between lots of frozen & non-frozen fruit. A lot of 6 to 7 fruit was considered frozen if one fruit was determined to be freeze-damaged. All of the data collected during the test period were pooled & variety & GA treatments were separated in the analysis. Best discrimination between frozen & non-frozen lots was obtained by setting the freeze threshold at e 0.01 mg/l etoh for GA treated & untreated fruit. Assuming this threshold, the etoh method agreed w/ the USDA method in 100% & 93% of the Washington variety lots & 100% & 93% of the Atwood lots. w/ both varieties there was the slightly lower agreement was wit the GA treated fruit. Based on a preliminary analysis none of the other potential factors: date of harvest, soluble solids or titratible acid had a significant influence on the detection accuracy. The sequential headspace etoh test revealed the headspace can be sampled after only 15 min of equilibration when conducted at room temperature. At 50° & 59°F minimum equilibration time is 30 min. The magnetic resonance method agreed w/ the CDFA method in 83% to 85% of the lots, w/ GA treated fruit having the slightly higher agreement. Recent work showed that frozen & non-frozen Navel oranges can be distinguished based on headspace ethanol concentrations & using a new optical method. Preliminary analysis indicates that the optical technique can distinguish frozen & non-frozen fruit w/ an accuracy similar to the headspace ethanol method, but it has the potential of operating at packing line speeds. The goal of this research is to compare the accuracy of headspace ethanol detection & optical methods of identifying freeze damaged Navel oranges w/ the official USDA method & a taste panel. If proven useful the methods will be suitable for use by Ag Commissioners following a freeze event & for online detection of damaged fruit. Next year: Continuing work is needed to develop methods needed to implement objective instrumented methods of assessing flesh color & flesh firmness at California Cling peach inspection stations. Specifically, this project will determine the minimum distance from the colorimeter measurement port to the edge of the cut flesh (i.e. the skin) allowed without significant change in the color reading. Eval. the change in color of clingstone peach tissue w/ bruising over time using a colorimeter for use in determining a bruise color threshold for future use in inspection. GA:Freshly harvested onions from 4 cultivars covering early, mid- & late season maturity categories were obtained from the Vidalia onion & Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Georgia. Polar & equatorial diameters & the weight of each onion were measured & resulting data were fitted to theoretical probability distributions. Statistical tests, such as the Chi-Square & Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, were conducted to determine goodness of fit. These onions were passed through an X-ray linescan inspection unit. All onions were placed on the belt conveyor w/ a consistent orientation (x-ray beam will be collinear w/ the root-shoot axes of the produce). Visual evaluation of X-ray images for the presence of distinct features indicative of defects, as described in the literature, will be done to assess the internal quality of the onions. Defective onions were removed from the system & were quartered to verify if a defect is indeed present. Quartering involved cutting the onion across its equatorial diameter & then halving along its neck-root axis. The false alarms & correct rejections are in line w/ previously reported results, except for the "Sweet Vidalia" cultivar. Reasons for this difference are currently being evaluated. HI:The physical properties of coffee important for engineering design of post harvest operations were determined for a limited sample of the coffees grown in Kona. The mean conversion of the typica variety of coffee cherry grown in Kona at 580 m elevation w/ less than 1% error is one kg of coffee cherry yields in succession 481 g of wet parchment, 299 g of dry parchment (12%wb), & 263 g of green bean. The by-products currently under utilized from 1 kg of coffee cherry were 314 g pulp, 110 g mucilage, & 36 g of hulls & MOTC (material other than coffee bean). Density in kg per cubic meter was determined to be: cherry 645; depulped 853; wet pulp 200; washed parchment 743; dry parchment 463; green bean 770; & hulls & MOTC 52. Next year: We will continue to explore methods to obtain calibration model for DDT in green bean coffee, determine the physical properties of coffee grown in Kona, & relate this data to design parameters for milling & storing high quality coffee. IN - Purdue:The results of tests on apples using a conveyor system designed for use w/ a low-field (5.35 MHz) proton magnetic resonance (MR) sensor were published in 2005. A follow-up study was completed in which apples w/ internal browning or both internal browning & watercore, along w/ unaffected apples, were tested using the same system. The apples were not moving at the time of interrogation. The T2 (spin-spin) relaxation signals were fit to a three term exponential model. Changes in the model parameters were correlated w/ the extent of physiological damage. The results suggest that the changes in the model parameters may indicate the presence & the severity of internal browning in apples. The low field MR sensor was also used for T2 measurements on whole canning tomatoes at maturity levels ranging from mature green (MG) to dark-red. A two-term exponential model w/ time constants T2a & T2b had the best fit to the relaxation curves. As tomato maturity changed from green to light red, the T2a values decreased while the T2b values increased. However, as maturity changed from light red to dark red (over-mature) T2a increased & T2b decreased. As a result, the T2a & T2b values of green & dark red tomatoes were almost identical. Tomato firmness was quantified by compressing the tomatoes between two flat plates & determining both the deformation for an applied load to 4.0 N & the elastic modulus. As the tomato ripeness increased, the deformation produced by the 4.0 N force increased & the modulus of elasticity decreased. Multiple correlation analyses using combinations of T2b & T2a gave coefficients of determination R2 of 0.47 for deformation at 4.0 N load & an R2 of 0.40 for elastic modulus versus T2b (P<0.0001). In tests on tomatoes collected from a processing facility the average T2a values of tomatoes w/ no visible damage, slight damage, & severe damage were 54 ms, 102 ms, & 121 ms, respectively. The differences among these averages were statistically significant (P = 0.05).During the summer of 2005, T2 values of tart cherries were determined by fitting a single term exponential model to the relaxation curve. The average T2 was lower for Montmorenci cherries w/ worm damage than for those without worm damage. However, worm damage caused no obvious differences in the average T2 of Balaton cherries. Additional tests & more extensive data analysis are needed to determine whether the MR sensor can be used to detect worm damage in tart cherries. Next year: Results of the tests conducted on apples & tomatoes will be submitted for publication. If time & resources become available, the potential for using magnetic resonance for detecting internal damage or quality attributes of other types of fruit & vegetables will be investigated. Japan:THz wave application in post-harvest: Experimental devices were made & actual tomato fruits were experimented. Refractive index of glucose solution was also measured. Next year: We will continue the experiments to accumulate data. MD:From traditional apple-by-apple visual inspection to automated on-line sorting & grading, machine vision technology plays a key role in the apple industry. Machine vision methods are widely used in apple defect detection & quality grading applications. Currently, 2D near-infrared (NIR) imaging of apples is often used to detect apple defects because the image intensity of the defect is different from the normal apple tissue. However, a drawback of this method is that the apple stem-end/calyx also exhibits similar image intensity to the apple defect. Since an apple stem-end/calyx often appears in the NIR image, the false alarm rate is high w/ the 2D NIR imaging method.In this paper, a novel two-step 3D data analysis strategy is developed so that the apple stem-end/calyx can be differentiated from apple defect according to their different 3D shape information. This new technique enables the accuracy & efficacy of discriminating apple stem/calyx from true defects & contributes to the new technology for automated detection of defects for apple quality on the market. In sensing & imaging detecting, an important task in hyperspectral data processing is to reduce the redundancy of the spectral & spatial information without losing any valuable details that are needed for the subsequent detection, discrimination & classification processes. Band selection & combination not only serves as the first step of hyperspectral data processing that leads to a significant reduction of computational complexity, but also a invaluable research tool to identify optimal spectra for different online applications. An integrated PCA & Fisher linear discriminant (FLD) method is developed for hyperspectral feature band selection & combination. Based on tests in a hyperspectral detection application, this new method achieves better performance than other feature extraction & selection methods in terms of robust classification. This method developed is universal & can be applied broad areas for food quality & safety inspections. ME:Prediction of blueberry infestation by using a PLS model. Prediction ratio using two different NIR systems (UM-650-1050 nm, UM-900-1690 nm) ranges between 70-80 percent. Prediction ratio includes field to field & season to season variations in the wild blueberry crop, covering three seasons (2002-2005). We have determined that the detection limit of the NIRS method based on maggot size (length) is 2 mm ~ equal to USDA standard test limit (visual, boil test). Spectral subtractions of averaged spectra from infested & non-infested blueberries show differences in the 1300-1700 nm range. In addition, comparison of subtractions of stem & calyx spectra from the same berry showed similar features for infested & non-infested berries Maggot to berry volume ratio percentages were completed for several samples & ranged from 0.6 to 3.2 percent, w/ the average being 1.2 percent. This average percentage is near the theoretical detection limit of the NIRS methods.Next year: a Determine which chemical compounds in the blueberry & maggot contribute to NIR signal & classification. Complete the following experiments which are currently on-going: a.1. FT-IR scan of infested & non-infested berries preliminary determination of chemical composition ; a.2. LC/MS analysis to identify functional groups & concentration ranges; & a.3. Complete the spectral data base & chemometrics model to determine the efficiency of the detection system. b.Attempt to reduce water signal in the spectra to improve classification: b.1. Use FT IR to calculate scaling factor for water spectrum subtraction at 2000 - 2500 nm; b.2. Use humidity chamber to get comparable water content in berries before scanning during 2006 field season; & b.3. Remove water by freeze-drying berries & maggots & test classification. c.Determine the probability to detect signal coming directly from the maggot: c.1. Determine the probability to find the maggot close to the berry stem end using microtoming. MI-ARS:Multispectral scattering for assessing fruit quality. Good progress was made on the development of a multispectral scattering technique for assessing apple fruit firmness, which is different from conventional nondestructive techniques. Improvements in mathematical analyses & system calibration led to better, more consistent prediction of fruit firmness. A multispectral scattering prototype has been designed & tested for real time detection of apple fruit quality. w/ further improvements, the prototype will be suitable for sorting & grading of apples for firmness & soluble solids. The research represents an important advancement in nondestructive sensing of fruit quality, & the technology would provide the fruit industry new capabilities for delivering better quality fresh products to the consumer. Integrated optical technique for assessing apple maturity. Apple maturity measurements are routinely performed w/ destructive methods. Reflectance & fluorescence are two nondestructive optical techniques that can be complementary in assessing multiple maturity/quality parameters. Research was performed on developing an optical technique integrating reflectance & fluorescence for nondestructive measurement of maturity parameters for apples. Based on research from the previous year, an improved technique that enabled fast measurement of both reflectance & fluorescence was developed. Mathematical methods were refined for integrating reflectance & fluorescence data to predict individual maturity parameters. Reflectance mode was consistently better than fluorescence mode for predicting maturity parameters. The integrated technique gave better measurement of nearly all maturity parameters than either reflectance or fluorescence mode; the improvements in the correlation coefficient was as high as 12% for acidity prediction. Hyperspectral imaging for detecting defective pickling cucumbers. Rapid, nondestructive detection of defective pickling cucumbers is critical to ensuring consistent, high quality pickled products. Research was performed on developing a nondestructive optical technique to detect surface & internal defects of pickling cucumbers. A hyperspectral imaging system was assembled & tested for acquiring reflectance & transmittance images from both normal & defective pickling cucumbers. Image processing algorithms were developed for automated classification of defective & normal cucumbers. An overall classification accuracy of 95% was achieved for surface & internal defects (bruises & damaged or hollow carpel) caused by mechanical stress resulting from dropping & rolling under load. The research represents the first effort of using hyperspectral imaging in transmittance mode for detecting defects in pickling cucumbers. Next: Our research will be focused on the following three areas: 1) continuing research on multispectral scattering for assessing fruit firmness & soluble solids. Improvements to the prototype will be made for more accurate & consistent assessment of fruit firmness & soluble solids content; 2) improving the technique integrating reflectance & fluorescence for faster, more accurate measurement of apple maturity parameters. Improved algorithms will be developed for more effective integration of two types of spectral data; & 3) developing algorithms for automated detection of defective pickling cucumbers from the hyperspectral image data acquired w/ the hyperspectral imaging prototype. MI-MSU:Studies continued on the evaluation of spectral properties to characterize the postharvest plum curculio insect infestation of tart cherries. These studies continue to show promise in discerning infested versus non-infested fruit, however, the project was again challenged w/ the ability to obtain adequate samples of infested cherries. Such fruit are a major problem, but are not prevalent. w/ the sample available, additional transmittance & reflectance measurements in the visible & NIR range were made w/ instrumentation & the dedicated prototype sensor previously developed under this project. Data will be added to previous season's measurements to enhance the sample base. A unique feature or measurement collected during this year was the analysis of a cherry sample set by means of NMR in collaboration w/ the Indiana NE-1008 station. Initial analysis of the data indicates NMR could demonstrate a slight difference between infested & non-infested samples. Limited physical difference between the infested & good cherry samples used posed a challenge. An additional effort of this station related to this multi-state project has been the involvement in the National Tree Fruit Technology Roadmap. MI station, in collaboration w/ the USDA-ARS-EL station, has been involved in trying to chart a course for the sensing & automation aspect of this national initiative to reduce production inputs. In parallel to being a participant in the national involvement in trying to secure funding & set direction, this station is looking, & has a project, to identify specific sensing & automation needs for Michigan which can potentially integrate w/ the national initiative. Another activity has been to conduct applied & demonstrative research in the area of enhancing product quality while increasing water use efficiency in the cooling of tart cherries. The focus during this reporting period was to quantify the effect of various cooling protocols & temperatures on the firmness & pitted yield of cherries. Next: The project relating to non-destructive evaluation of internal cherry quality (primarily past or present insect presence) will again continue by attempting to improve on the number & distribution of various levels of cherry quality samples through efforts to induce infestations to increase control of infested fruit. Replication & verification of previous years experiments will be conducted. Efforts will continue w/ participation on the Technology Roadmap initiative, both on the national & state levels. It is expected this will lead to initial research this coming year on orchard management related sensing concepts. MI station is also involved in a new project to study technology & protocol to enhance the quality appearance of Michigan apples. While not sensor related but fruit quality related, this station will continue to assist the cherry industry w/ means to improve the uniformity of cooling within tart cherry tanks. PA: continued to combine the surface-acoustic wave-based "zNose" technology w/ the Cyranose 320 through sensor fusion to detect damage in apples. The response of the e-nose 32 sensors are being combined w/ the compound-specific peaks from the zNose through artificial neural networks or multivariate analysis techniques to determine presence of compounds associated w/ damaged apples. Tests using the individual instruments showed that both the e-nose & the zNose could distinguish healthy from damaged apples (those w/ purposely inflicted cuts) after about 5-7 days. Advanced evolutionary algorithms, including genetic algorithms (GA), covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy (CMAES), & differential evolution (DE) algorithms, were investigated to select the most relevant wavelengths & reduce data dimensionality of both the e-nose & zNnose. These approaches improved classification accuracy to between 97 & 100%. Fusion techniques are currently being employed to combine the zNose & e-nose data for final validation tests. Objective 3) CA-Davis:SYBR Green Assay:Modifications to a previously published (Csordas et al., 2004) SYBR Green real-time assay for the detection of Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) were performed w/ a flow-through PCR instrument. A two-step PCR assay was performed under the following conditions: 2 minutes at 50°C, 10 minutes at 95°C & 35 cycles of: 30 s at 95°C & 1 minute at 62°C. The Sen primer set was used to target a 172 bp fragment of the invA gene of S. enterica w/ a melting temperature of approximately 81°C. BSA at a concentration of 0.25 mg/ml was used in the reaction mixture to reduce adsorption of reaction components to the glass reaction chamber & silicone tubing. A Taq polymerase concentration of 104 nkat (6.25 U) per 50 µl reaction was used. Following thermal cycling, a dissociation analysis was performed. The temperature of the reaction chamber was increased from 60 to 90°C in 1°C increments w/ a 30 second hold at each temperature setpoint Fluorescence readings were taken at each temperature setpoint. Flow-through Real-Time PCR System: An embedded controller (TD 40, Tern Inc., Davis, CA, 95616) was programmed in C++ to control the automated real-time PCR system. A proportional integral derivative (PID) controller controlled the temperature of a small thermoelectric module (9501/071/040B, FerroTec, Santa Clara, CA, USA) for heating & cooling during PCR. Fiber optic cables (DH4001, Mitsubishi Rayon, Tokyo, Japan) were used to transmit light to & from the PCR sample. A 470 nm blue LED (IF-E92B, Industrial Fiber Optics, Tempe, AZ, USA) was used to excite the sample in the reaction chamber. A photodiode (BPX-61, Siemens, Cupertino, CA) embedded in a plastic housing contained a 520 nm bandpass interference filter (42-5249, Ealing Catalog, Rocklin, CA) for rejecting blue scattered light & passing light in the 520 nm range. The photodiode signal was sent to circuitry for amplification, filtering, & offset adjustment. A 1.85 mm ID glass capillary tube (6630-299-9837, Friedrich & Dimmock, NJ, USA) was used as the PCR reaction chamber. The tube was placed inside an aluminum block, which was placed on the thermoelectric module (TEM). Solenoids w/ spring attached plungers were used to seal the silicone tubing (TBGM107, Neptune Research, West Caldwell, NJ, USA) attached to the glass reaction chamber. A diagram showing major components of the flow-through system is shown in Figure 1. Fluid handling & real-time PCR components. Flow-through PCR Results: Figures 2 & 3 show the results of testing the flow-through PCR system w/ 50 ng of S. enterica Newport DNA per 50 µl reaction. The test sample & PCR mix were automatically loaded into the glass reaction chamber using pump 1. The amplification plot in Figure 2 shows that the fluorescence signal starts to increase at approximately cycle 20. Figure 2. Increase in fluorescence as a function of cycle number w/ S. enterica Newport extracted DNA. The dissociation plot of the PCR is shown in Figure 3. The plot indicates that the product formed during PCR has a melting temperature of 80°C, close to the expected melting temperature of the product of 81°C. Figure 3. Flow-through system dissociation results. Other experiments have shown that it is possible to clean the sample line w/ the reagents described previously, without any carry over contamination. A positive control PCR w/ 50 ng of extracted S. enterica Newport DNA was run, followed by a negative control reaction w/ no DNA. The amplification plot of the negative control reaction did not show any increase in fluorescence & no significantly large peaks were seen in the dissociation plot at any temperature. Therefore, it was possible to clean the sample line used for loading the test sample into the reaction chamber. We will continue to provide information on the detection limit of S. enterica extracted DNA & boiled S. enterica cells in autoclaved water & in sprout irrigation water. A completely automated real-time PCR detection system should include the automatic interpretation of fluorescence data collected so that the operator is not required to have extensive real-time PCR knowledge to determine test results. Software is being written & tested that will find temperatures associated w/ significantly large dF/dT values near 81°C to help determine if a particular sample contained Salmonella. Additionally, Ct values may be used to determine the approximate concentration of Salmonella detected by the system. MD:Outbreaks of salmonellosis have been epidemiologically linked to consumption of fresh cantaloupes (FDA, 2001b); therefore this produce has been targeted as a potentially hazardous food. Contaminated cantaloupes were found responsible for 2 deaths & 18 hospitalizations due to Salmonella between 2000 & 2002; subsequent investigations revealed unsanitary growing & packaging conditions (Anderson et al., 2002; FDA, 2002). Fecal contamination can result from faulty use of manure-based fertilizers, unsanitary conditions in packaging plants, or through random natural events by wild animals. To respond this issue, hyperspectral fluorescence imaging techniques were developed to detect invisible contaminants on embedded in the surface cantaloupes w/ at varying concentrations. These results indicate that fluorescence imaging is potentially viable technology for commercial applications for detection of fecal contamination on cantaloupes. PA: continued on the application of surface plasmon resonance biosensors to detect pathogenic microorganisms, especially different varieties of pathogenic Escherichia coli. A new scanning-imaging approach was developed to increase the dynamic range of the imaging SPR instrument. We are currently studying the application of array-based biosensors using scanning imaging SPR to detect antibody/antigen interactions w/ the goal of simultaneous detection of multiple pathogenic bacteria. SPR Imaging is an extension of the traditional SPR devices that are well known for their high sensitivity, real-time monitoring, & label-free detection of probe-target interactions. SPR imaging offers improvements over traditional SPR because it allows for multiple probe/target interactions to be monitored simultaneously. Next year: The surface plasmon sensor research will continue. WA-Over the past year, we collaborated w/ pomologists at UC Davis, entomologists at USDA ARS Fresno Station, RF engineers of Strayfield, UK & process engineers & quality assurance laboratory of Diamond Walnuts Inc., CA to conduct industrial-scale confirmatory treatments in control of field pests in inshell walnut. It is the final step in developing commercially & environmentally sound insect control technologies for in-shell walnuts using radio frequency (RF) energy as an alternative to chemical fumigation. w/ an industrial-scale 27 MHz, 25 kW RF system, treatment provides a throughputs of 1562 kg/h at an average energy efficiency 79.5 to achieve an average walnut surface temperature of 60°C, & minimum temperature of 52°C. The treatment resulted in 100% mortality of fifth-instar navel orangeworm larvae, the most heat tolerant target pest, in both unwashed & air dried walnuts, & was effective over a relatively wide range of walnut moisture contents (3-7.5%). Walnut quality was not affected by the RF treatments; kernel color, peroxide values & fatty acid values of treated walnuts were similar to untreated controls after 20 days at 35°C simulating 2 years of storage under commercial conditions at 4°C. The RF treatment developed in this study should also control codling moth, Indianmeal moth & red flour beetle in in-shell walnuts. This treatment should provide an effective & environmentally friendly phytosanitary treatment technology for the walnut industry. Objective 4) HI:Built a prototype separator based on parallel rollers. The design is based on the proven ability for parallel rollers to expel 100% of pulp while all beans are retained without any damage to the hull of the beans. Determined that a dryer using a dehumidifier to condense the water from the recirculating drying air would be economical under current conditions in Kona. Next year: We will test a prototype separator based on the roller technology. Japan:A fruit grading robot w/ traceability system: Fruit grading robots were commercialized by SI Seiko Co., Ltd. & were introduced to some agricultural cooperative associations. A traceability system, in which grading data the fruit grading robot measures are accumulated, was constructed & is working for consumers through web site. Next year: Development of a mobile fruit grading robot, which can follow human operator who is in charge of harvesting operation.

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