U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2007





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Adult lesser grain borers. Click the image for more information about it.For further reading"Sounding off" on insects found in grainAgricultural tool recruited to battle malariaPistachio "blaster" listens for perfect nuts Getting a "Charge" From Bugs in Wheat By Erin Peabody  May 21, 2007 How do you spot tiny insects that might be lurking inside grains bound for the kitchen table? Give them a minor jolt, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) engineer. Thomas Pearson, who works at the agency's Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, Kan., has found a novel and cost-effective way to detect the pesky insect larvae that occasionally use kernels of our favorite cereal grains as their homes. Several agricultural researchers, including Pearson, are hard at work devising new and improved methods for helping inspectors screen our nation's grain supply. Why? Despite rigorous scrutiny of grain at flour mills and loading docks for overseas shipments, insects, in all their earthly abundance, remain persistent invaders of stored grains. Especially hard to find are immature insectstender pupae and larvae that metamorphose inside the nutrient-rich cocoon of a grain kernel until they're ready to emerge as adults. Pearson's detection system relies on three parts: a roller system for crushing a sample of wheat, a voltage source for sending a charge through the sample, and a computer software program for measuring aspects of the sample's electrical conductance. Kernels infested with larvae cause a noticeable spike in electrical conductivity readings. Such increases are likely due to the hidden larvae's moisture content. For his study, Pearson intentionally infested batches of hard winter wheat and soft winter wheat with two of the grain industry's most insidious foes: the rice weevil and lesser grain borer. He allowed the contaminated samples to "incubate" for several weeks so that stowaway insects had a chance to multiply and grow, and so that their unnerving presence could be independently confirmed. Pearson's specially adapted roller mill can impressively screen about 30,000 kernelsor one kilogram of graina minute, spotting 80 to 90 percent of those infested with insect larvae. The cost of the device is substantially less than other technologies for insect detection, including x-ray and near-infrared systems. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov