Business and Industry

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Business and Industry News

Researcher Ali Demirci adjusts a bioreactor in which potato waste is being used to produce bioethanol with a novel process that simultaneously employs mold and yeast to convert starch to sugar and sugar to ethanol.
Potato waste processing may be the road to enhanced food waste conversion
August 17, 2017
With more than two dozen companies in Pennsylvania manufacturing potato chips, it is no wonder that researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have developed a novel approach to more efficiently convert potato waste into ethanol. This process may lead to reduced production costs for biofuel in the future and add extra value for chip makers.
The method of animal manure application can influence the availability of nutrients and estrogens to runoff water. Several Penn State studies have shown the potential benefits of shallow disk injection (shown here) for reducing phosphorus and nitrate transport in surface runoff compared to surface broadcasting. Just published research demonstrated significantly reduced estrogen transport in runoff from shallow disk injection plots relative to surface broadcast plots. The inset photo shows injectors.
Injecting manure instead of spreading on surface reduces estrogen loads
August 16, 2017
With water quality in the Chesapeake Bay suffering from excess nutrients and fish populations in rivers such as the Susquehanna experiencing gender skewing and other reproductive abnormalities, understanding how to minimize runoff of both nutrients and endocrine-disrupting compounds from farm fields after manure applications is a critical objective for agriculture.
Grant enables study of mosquito virus as a genetic lab tool, malaria biocontrol
August 14, 2017
A virus that infects a species of malaria-transmitting mosquito could help scientists gain a better understanding of mosquito biology and eventually could lead to methods for stopping or slowing the spread of the disease, according to a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Jason Rasgon, professor of entomology, has received a grant of $1.9 million from the National Institutes of Health to study the virus, called AgDNV.
Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are developing strategies to combat weeds while reducing reliance on herbicides. Some of their experiments involved using a high-residue, inter-row cultivator for weed control.
Reducing reliance on herbicides the objective of research at Penn State
August 7, 2017
Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are developing strategies to combat weeds while reducing reliance on herbicides.
The Aprehend biopesticide developed by Penn State researchers contains Beauveria bassiana, a natural and indigenous fungus that causes disease in insects but is harmless to humans. When a bedbug crosses a sprayed barrier, it picks up the fungal spores, which germinate and colonize the body, killing the bedbug in four to seven days.
Video: Penn State researchers find new solution to combat age-old bedbug problem
August 3, 2017
A team of Penn State scientists has developed a potential game-changer in the war against bedbugs — a naturally derived, fungal-based pesticide that uses the bugs’ own natural tendencies to humankind’s advantage.
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