**Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report for National Program 306,**

**Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products**

National Program 306 (NP 306) focuses on post-harvest quality and
utilization of agricultural commodities and products. It addresses
Strategic Goal 2, Objective 1, Performance Measure 2.1.2 **of the ARS FY
2006-2011 Strategic Plan** (***Develop cost-effective, functional
industrial and consumer products, including higher quality, healthy
foods, that satisfy consumer demand in the United States and abroad*).**

In March 2008, an external panel conducted a retrospective assessment of
the accomplishments and impact of NP 306 over the past 8 years based on
a comprehensive accomplishments report provided to the panel by the
Program management team. The team held a workshop in June 2008, inviting
stakeholders to provide input on relevant problems and research needs.
From this workshop and subsequent internal planning meetings, a new
National Program Action Plan was developed and announced in November
2008. The development of new project plans, their peer review, and
implementation in 2010 will launch the second cycle for this program.

Select accomplishments by NP 306 for fiscal year 2008 are shown below
under the two Program components.

1\. **Quality Characterization, Preservation, and Enhancement**

[Sunflower cultivars with high levels of gamma- and
delta-tocopherols]{.underline}. Studies on vegetable oils by scientists
at Peoria, Illinois, showed that gamma- and delta-tocopherols were much
better antioxidants than alpha-tocopherol, which is also known as
vitamin E. Because sunflower oils contain mostly alpha-tocopherol, the
Peoria scientists recommended that ARS plant geneticists develop
sunflowers with high amounts of gamma- and delta-tocopherols to enhance
the oxidative stability of sunflower oil. In March 2008, a germplasm
release of this modification was made through the ARS Germplasm
Resources Information Network (GRIN). This new modified sunflower oil
has the potential to help replace trans fat-containing hydrogenated oils
for high stability uses such as frying and to produce good quality,
healthful foods.

[Analytical support for soybean and other oilseeds]{.underline}. Soybean
breeders are dependent on rapid, standardized, and accurate chemical
properties to guide their breeding efforts. Oil, protein, and moisture
content determinations (30,601 soybean samples by near infrared), as
well as fatty acid profiles (15,089 samples), were performed by
scientists at Peoria, Illinois, and the compiled data was published in
the annual United States Department of Agriculture publication,
"Coordinated Soybean Analysis." All of these data have been provided to
breeders throughout the United States, where the information is critical
to the development of improved soybean varieties. The Peoria scientists
also analyzed 100 Camelina accessions for free acid content and percent
oil for breeders in Nebraska and 1,000 Brassica accessions for free acid
content and percent oil in a cooperative study with the Plant
Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa. In addition, more than 140 Jojoba
accessions were analyzed for free acid content and percent oil for the
National Plant Germplasm System. The continued analysis of accessions
gives breeders the information they need to make plant selections and to
monitor breeding progress.

[Generation of malting quality data for Barley CAP project]{.underline}.
The Barley CAP project is a broad, integrated project for the barley
research community, involving 30 research programs from U.S.
institutions, that integrates genotypic and phenotypic information in
order to develop more efficient tools for barley improvement. In year 2
of the project, scientists at Madison, Wisconsin, provided phenotypic
(malting quality) data on all 1,100 lines submitted by participating
breeding programs. These data will be used in conjunction with other
phenotypic data (agronomic, disease resistance, food/feed quality) and
genotypic characterization, constituting a comprehensive data set for
linking the genetic basis for phenotypic performance in a crop where a
comprehensive genomic data set is not available. This will benefit
researchers (understanding the linkage of genetic traits with important
performance features) and growers (allowing development of malting
barley varieties that meet malting quality specifications, as well as
showing needed disease resistance and meeting agronomic benchmarks by
eliminating existing yield penalties in malting varieties), as well as
the malting and brewing industries (by providing an adequate supply of
suitable quality malting barley varieties).

[Chemical and sensory analyses of tomatoes]{.underline}. The tomato is
the second largest vegetable crop in dollar value in the United States,
with a fresh market value of \$1.6 billion in 2005. Using chemical and
sensory analyses, the 19 most important odorants responsible for fresh
tomato flavor were identified and quantified by ARS scientists at
Albany, California. It was shown that the differences between highly
appetizing and less appetizing tomatoes were due to variations in the
concentrations of certain flavor compounds. This fundamental knowledge
will help plant breeders and growers to select cultivars with the
highest consumer preference.

[Low-cost wheat color sorter]{.underline}. A low-cost sorting device for
wheat was built by engineers at Manhattan, Kansas, using a standard
personal computer and color camera. Special programming techniques were
used so that the throughput of the sorter would be high while keeping
the sorter cost low. The sorting system was tested on its ability to
separate red wheat from white wheat for wheat breeding programs. At a
wheat throughput of 30 kernels per second, or 3.5 Kg per hour, the
sorter is able to correctly separate 95% to 99% of the wheat. The
accuracy is 15% to 20% higher than what can be achieved with traditional
sorters. This sorter will help breeding programs isolate desirable
kernels so that they can be propagated, which will result in faster
releases of new and improved varieties of grain. Four wheat breeders in
the United States have already adopted this system as their tool of
choice for separating red and white wheat.

[Automated near-infrared system for selecting individual kernels based
on specific quality characteristics]{.underline}. There is currently no
method to select kernels with specific end-use characteristics to assist
breeders in developing cultivars for specific grower needs or for
specific markets. Current methods of developing new cultivars require
many years of repetitive crosses to attempt to develop pure lines with
specific traits. Engineers at Manhattan, Kansas, developed a system that
can automatically select specific kernels with specific traits from
populations. The system utilizes near-infrared spectroscopy that measure
attributes such as protein content, starch levels, or kernel hardness in
individual kernels and then removes those kernels from the sample at a
rate of about 1 kernel/2 s. These kernels can then be used by breeders
to develop cultivars with specific traits that will result in crops with
improved agronomic performance and improved end-use quality. Also, the
selection of kernels can occur in a few minutes and does not take the
years of crossing required in current breeding programs. The system can
also be used to measure the variability of quality within samples,
providing valuable information to grain handlers, storage managers,
millers, and grain processors. The system has been applied to wheat and
proso millet and could apply to other grains.

[Development of improved wheat germplasm]{.underline}. Wheat producers,
milling and baking industries, and overseas customers require continual
improvement in the quality of wheat to meet their evolving needs. ARS
researchers at Fargo, North Dakota, contributed wheat end-use quality
data that helped lead to the development of improved wheat germplasm and
subsequent release of new cultivars of spring, winter, and durum wheat
bred for commercial production. They provided more than 40 different
tests related to the physical and biochemical quality traits of the
wheat kernel and related milling performance, flour, semolina, dough,
baking, and spaghetti processing on more than 4,000 samples of hard
spring, hard winter, and durum wheat lines that were submitted by wheat
breeders and cooperating scientists. The impact lies in the release or
potential release of five experimental lines of spring wheat in
2007/2008 and the commercial release of the cultivars 'Briggs' and 'Ada'
in 2007.

[Potato postharvest quality evaluations and release of new potato
cultivars]{.underline}. The ability to process acceptably after storage
is an essential attribute of a successful potato variety. The
standardized evaluation procedures developed and used at East Grand
Forks, Minnesota, have been an important component of the overall
process of evaluation and release of new cultivars by Federal and state
cooperators nationwide. In support of Federal and non-Federal public
breeding/screening programs, researchers at this location have analyzed
between 14,000 and 15,000 advanced breeding lines for storage/processing
quality annually. Research conducted in collaboration with North Dakota
State University and the University of Minnesota has contributed to the
release of two new promising potato varieties: Dakota Crisp and Dakota
Diamond. Both varieties offer significant benefits to both producers and
processors and should be widely adopted by the potato industry.

[Cotton moisture sensor development]{.underline}. The seed cotton
moisture measurement system, \"SMMS\", is one application of broader
technology that was developed by scientists at Lubbock, Texas. As
developed, the SMMS is capable of being utilized in both seed cotton
moisture sensing as well as in cotton bale lint moisture sensing. This
technology has produced three U.S. patents. A material transfer
agreement was completed with a commercial partner in 2008 to effectively
implement the transfer of the technology to industry.

[Physical property database assembled and placed online]{.underline}.
Physical property data of advanced breeding lines of peanuts have been
collected as a result of collaborative tests with United States peanut
breeders since 2001. The physical property data have been assembled into
a searchable on-line database by scientists at Dawson, Georgia. Data can
be searched based on peanut market type and growing area and downloaded
for statistical analysis.

[Release of two new strawberry varieties]{.underline}. Two strawberry
advanced selections, \'Florida Elyana\' and 'Florida Radiance', were
released by the University of Florida due to collaborative efforts by
ARS researchers at Winter Haven, Florida, and a University of Florida
strawberry breeder to develop flavorful fruit complementing the ripening
period of the current commercial variety, 'Festival'. Strawberry
advanced selections were evaluated for flavor, color, and horticultural
characteristics, including sensory and chemical analyses, resulting in
the development of fruit with constant superior eating quality during
the ripening season of strawberries in Florida.

[Breeding for good roast peanut flavor]{.underline}. Moisture, fat,
tocopherols, sugars, fatty acids profiles, and sensory characteristics
were determined on 235 samples for the Uniform Peanut Performance Trials
by researchers at Raleigh, North Carolina. These data are critical in
development of new peanut varieties and have been used in the
development of several released lines.

2\. **New Processes, New Uses, and Value-Added Foods and Biobased
Products**

[Environmentally friendly hide dehairing process]{.underline}. Sulfide
has traditionally been used to dehair bovine hides; however, sulfide
poses both a health hazard and an environmental hazard. Tanners have
expressed an interest in eliminating sulfide from the tannery. ARS
scientists at Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, have developed a dehairing process
based on alkaline sodium percarbonate (a white, crystalline,
water-soluble chemical composed of sodium carbonate and hydrogen
peroxide) that eliminates the use of sulfide from the tannery and
eliminates sulfide from the waste stream. ARS is carrying out this
research under a CRADA with a major domestic tannery and demonstrated
that it is feasible to manufacture leather from oxidatively dehaired
hides while concurrently reducing the amount of waste generated during
the dehairing process.

[Starch-based formulations with properties suitable for use in skin
lotions]{.underline}. Jet-cooked lotion formulations for delivering
pharmaceuticals and antimicrobials to the surface of human skin were
previously prepared from mixtures of starch, lipid, pectin, and xanthan.
These lotion formulations, however, exhibited an undesirable, sticky
hand-feel when they were applied to the skin surface and allowed to dry.
Researchers at Peoria, Illinois, have now shown that jet-cooked
formulations, prepared from high-amylose starch and lipid in the
presence of a fatty acid to complex the amylose component of starch,
exhibit a smooth hand feel and do not pass through a sticky phase during
drying. The Peoria scientists are working with CRADA partners to
commercialize skin lotions prepared using this technology.

[Genomics and sugar metabolism of probiotic human gut
Bifidobacteria]{.underline}. Fundamental information is needed to
understand how probiotic Bifidobacteria are beneficial to improved
resistance to intestinal disorders. In collaboration with the University
of California, Davis, researchers at Peoria, Illinois, sequenced the
complete genome of Bifidobacterium infantis and demonstrated that this
genome encodes all genes required to metabolize human milk
oligosaccharides. This work has potential impact for research to design
new prebiotics.

[Commercial transfer of fruit and vegetable edible film
technology]{.underline}. New processing technologies can provide new
products that will increase utilization and consumption of fruits and
vegetables by American consumers. Researchers in Albany, California,
worked with an industrial CRADA partner to commercialize patent-pending,
fruit- and vegetable-based films in a variety of final food product
applications. One of these applications is the use of the films as
healthy, colorful alternatives to the seaweed wrap \'nori\' in a novel
line of Sunny California rolls on sale at Trader Joe's supermarkets
around the country. Films were also sold commercially to a wide variety
of up-scale restaurants, as well as for use as a healthy, flavorful
glaze for hams and turkeys. The CRADA partner received a large loan from
the San Joaquin Valley Revolving Loan Fund to build the film
manufacturing plant in Stockton, California, an area of high
unemployment. The ARS scientists helped the CRADA partner begin
production in this new location in 2008, resulting in the hiring of four
full-time professionals, two of whom are minorities.

[Enhancing the Vitamin D content in mushrooms through novel UVB
processing]{.underline}.

Approximately 60% of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D. ARS
scientists in Albany, California, worked with a mushroom producer,
through a CRADA, to implement and optimize processing conditions to
naturally produce Vitamin D in mushrooms by brief exposure to UVB light.
The process has been scaled up, and one serving of the mushrooms
contributes 100% of the RDA of Vitamin D. Sensory results indicate that
the acceptability of the treated mushrooms is equivalent to that of
untreated mushrooms. The mushrooms are scheduled to be released in the
marketplace nationwide in the near future. This research will help meet
American nutritional needs while adding value to mushrooms.

[Development of standard rice sample preparation
procedures]{.underline}. There is a great need for developing
appropriate standard rice sample milling and preparation procedures
aimed at improving the consistency and accuracy of rice quality
appraisal. Over the past 4 years, researchers at Albany, California,
worked with collaborators at the University of California at Davis, USDA
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA), and the
California Rice Research Board in the systematic investigation of the
rice sample milling mechanism and the effect of milling parameters on
the appraisal of rice milling quality. Based on the scientific knowledge
and results obtained by the researchers, a new rice sample milling
standard was implemented in October 2007 by the USDA GIPSA. The adoption
of the new rice sample milling procedure adds an estimated value of more
than \$20 million each year to the rice industry in the United States.

[Collection of Russian dandelion germplasm]{.underline}. Russian
dandelion, or Taraxacum kok-saghyz, produces high quantities of
high-quality rubber in its roots. It has the potential to be a new
rubber-producing crop in the United States, and there is a high level of
industrial interest. ARS scientists from Albany, California, and
Pullman, Washington, in collaboration with scientists from Kazakhstan,
mounted a Russian dandelion collecting expedition in the high river
valleys in southeastern Kazakhstan. Collections were made from 22
different populations and are being prepared for deposit in the USDA-ARS
National Germplasm Collection. The deposition of Russian dandelion in
the Collection will allow growth from only 2 viable accessions that are
now available worldwide to more than 20 different accessions.

[Quality and productivity of guayule latex]{.underline}. USDA CRADA
research supports process optimization for and characterization of
Yulex™, a guayule latex product, supplied by the Yulex Corporation,
exclusive licensee of two USDA patents. Ongoing collaborative research
and development through the CRADA evaluated physical and chemical
properties of guayule latex over a more than one-year period. As
reported by the USDA in 2007, guayule natural rubber latex met the ASTM
Category 4 specification for all 11 ASTM physical and chemical methods
throughout the testing period, and the data demonstrated that guayule
latex has consistent physical and chemical properties, a requirement for
successful commercialization. This work directly contributed to adoption
of a new ASTM D1076-06 Category 4 standard for latex that is safe for
people suffering from Type I latex allergy. In May 2008, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration announced 510(k) approval of the first product,
an examination glove, made from guayule latex, a key milestone toward
full commercialization. Research work on this CRADA project is funded by
the Yulex Corporation.

[Microbeads for protecting honeybees]{.underline}. The honeybee
industry, which is critical to the success of agricultural production in
crops that depend on pollination, has been under threat from colony
collapse disorder, perhaps because of infestation of Varroa mites. ARS
researchers in Albany, California, developed starch microbeads as
slow-release agents to release miticides that control honeybee
parasites. The microbeads contain heptanone and essential oils that
control Varroa mites using technology for making starch-based
microspheres in a controlled, critical size range, from 1 to 10 µm. The
starch foam microspheres are used to control parasitic mites in honeybee
colonies and may also have useful pharmaceutical applications.

[Novel biobased plastic/fiber composites]{.underline}. Waste from
unripened coconut is a large, under-utilized source of biomass that is
the source of value-added fibers. ARS researchers in Albany, California,
in collaboration with EMBRAPA scientists from Brazil, developed a
biodegradable polymer/fiber composite material using waste from the
unripened coconut. The addition of coconut fiber into starch-based
plastics improved strength and flexibility. This technology has been
introduced to potential commercial partners as an improved \"green\"
composite/nanocomposite material that could increase the demand for
coconut fiber and help local economies where coconuts are grown.

[Development of high-performance mulches for the green industry
utilizing cotton gin byproducts]{.underline}. The CRADA for this project
was transferred from Summit Seed, Inc., in Manteno, Illinois, to Leggett
& Platt, Inc., in Carthage, Missouri. Technology transfer continued with
the new CRADA partner by developing goals and objectives to enhance the
utilization of the technology. ARS scientists at Lubbock, Texas,
provided guidance on equipment layout and processing necessary to
implement the technology on a commercial scale. The guidance was
provided on a soon-to-be-built facility that will use the technology to
produce hydromulch. A hydromulch facility could result in a revenue
stream of \$20 to \$30 per ton to cotton gins within the region of the
plant. Value-added processing has resulted in a paradigm shift from
thinking of gin byproducts as waste to considering the material as a
revenue stream.