| |
Research/Scholarship -- 25%
| Focus of activities |
POSTHARVEST ENGINEERING - Engineering of systems, processes,
and equipment to maintain the quality and safety of plant-based foods during handling,
preservation, storage, transportation, and "minimal" processing; and to develop
alternative or improved utilization of plant material in food and non-food products. PRODUCTION
AGRICULTURE - The design and management of machinery, buildings and equipment relating to
the production of food, feed, and fiber. Constituents are commercial agricultural
producers, related agri-businesses and power suppliers. Funding is primarily from
commercial firms and producer associations. |
| Peer reviewed publications |
Marshall, D.E. and Brook, R.C. 1999. Reduced bell pepper bruising during postharvest
handling. HortTechnology 9(2):4-8. Fick, R.J. and Brook, R.C. 1999. Threshold
sugar levels during storage of Snowden variety potatoes. Am. J. Potato Res.
76:357-362. |
| Other publications |
Brook, R.C. 1999. Drying Farm Crops (revised). In: ASHRAE
Applications Handbook, ASHRAE, Atlanta, GA |
| Papers presented at conferences -
none |
| Professional Improvement |
Professional Meetings Attended
 | Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference, Feb. 7-10 |
| ASAE International Meeting July 18-21 |
|
| Awards and honors received for
research - none |
| Numbers of M.S. and Ph.D.
theses/projects completed - none |
| Grant and contract support |
PI
| CANR Precision Agriculture (MAES/MSUE, Jan. $35,000) |
| Spatial and temporal dynamics of potato production sites in relation to precision
agriculture and integrated crop management systems (Michigan Potato Industry, Jan.
$10,000) |
| Biosystems Engineering for Food Safety and Food Quality - graduate study fellowships
(USDA, Dec. $138,000) |
| Celery Storage Research (Celery Growers, Aug. $1,000) |
| Vegetable postharvest safety and quality (USDA, Oct. $150,000) |
Co-PI / Cooperator
| Comparative analysis of site-specific and conventional fertility management for corn and
soybeans grown in Michigan (PPI, Mar. $20,000) |
| Spatial and temporal dynamics of alfalfa production in relation to precision agriculture
and integrated crop management systems (GREEEN, Mar. $70,000 first year) |
|
| Proposals submitted |
PI
| Role of precision agriculture technology in selected biological and environmental
monitoring components of potato integrated pest management (NC Integrated Pest Management,
Jan.) |
| Late blight detection: developing and testing hyperspectral signatures for remote
sensing (USDA-National Potato Council, Aug.) |
| Potato early die: role of precision agriculture technology in potato IPM (USDA-National
Potato Council, Aug.) |
| Spatial and temporal dynamics of potato production sites in relation to precision
agriculture and integrated crop management systems (Michigan Potato Industry, Dec.) |
Co-PI / Cooperator
| Comparison of fungicide application equipment for the control of late blight under
disease conducive conditions (USDA-National Potato Council, Aug.) |
| Light frequency analysis and neural network classification for fruit & vegetable
quality evaluation (USDA National Research Initiative, Dec.) |
| Comparison of fungicide application equipment for the control of late blight under
disease conducive conditions (Michigan Potato Industry, Dec.) |
| Field evaluation of the relationship between soil quality and the potato early-die
complex: with special reference to precision agriculture (Michigan Potato Industry, Dec.) |
|
| Other |
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