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 AgComm
News Purdue Extension Purdue
Agriculture Purdue University 
Jay Akridge Olivia Maddox Cherryl Frederick 
Agricultural Communication |
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Welcome to Purdue Agriculture Report, an e-newsletter for business and community leaders on research, academics and Extension across Indiana and around the globe. Dean's Message New educational facility ready to serve Just last month we dedicated a new state-of-the-art facility that extends our educational mission. The Beck Agricultural Center at the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education includes classrooms, a multipurpose room and a work area set up for hands-on plant diagnostic demonstrations and research. The $5.2 million building was financed with a major gift from the Beck family of Atlanta, Ind., combined with Purdue Agriculture development funds. While it will host many workshops for producers it will also serve an even larger audience, including younger students. Purdue farms attract about 5,000 elementary through high-school students and teachers annually for various classes. Project helps companies reap big benefits from tiny technology Compounds so small they cannot be seen by the naked eye could produce highly visible growth opportunities and cost savings for north-central Indiana manufacturers through a project sponsored by Indiana WIRED. A one-year skill development pilot project to introduce nanostructured tool coating technology to industrial firms within the 14-county Indiana WIRED region began this month, said Christy Bozic, Indiana WIRED's manager of business innovation. Companies with workers who perform machining operations are invited to apply for the program. "A significant part of WIRED is involved in innovation," Bozic said. "We're trying to help workers develop new skills and manufacturers adopt innovative industrial processes so that they can stay in north-central Indiana, retain jobs and be more competitive." Companies can apply for the pilot project by contacting Bozic at cbozic@purdue.edu. Additional information about Indiana WIRED is available at the project Web site at http://www.indiana-wired.net.
To get more out of your next cup of tea, just add juice. A study found that citrus juices enable more of green tea's unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion, making the pairing even healthier than previously thought. The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea. Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb. Mario Ferruzzi, assistant professor of food science at Purdue University and the study's lead author, tested juices, creamers and other additives that are either commonly added to fresh-brewed tea or used to make ready-to-drink tea products by putting them through a model simulating gastric and small-intestinal digestion. Citrus juice increased recovered catechin levels by more than five times, the study found.Nematodes working free of common soybean resistance genes After almost three decades of shielding soybean plants from a deadly natural foe, the leading source of resistance against soybean cyst nematode is showing chinks in its armor, said a Purdue University nematologist. The PI 88788 gene is found in about 97 percent of soybean varieties with soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance. The yield-robbing, wormlike nematode feeds on nutrients within a soybean plant's roots. The pest is linked to increased incidence of soybean sudden death syndrome. SCN-related yield losses can reach 50 percent in heavily infested fields. "Since the PI 88788 source of resistance has been around about 30 years you would expect there to be some changes in that resistance over time," said Jamal Faghihi, Purdue Extension nematologist. "We have seen that change occurring. The soybean varieties with PI 88788 resistance are not working as well as they used to." What that means for farmers is greater soybean cyst nematode problems down the road, Faghihi said.Researchers seek genes behind rice nutrients to combat malnutrition One research team is going with the flow and against the grain by searching out genes that regulate the transport and flow of nutrients within the rice plant and into storage in its edible grain. Discoveries could help improve the relatively poor nutritional value of the grain, a factor that explains how more than half the world's people suffer from some form of nutrient deficiency, according to the World Health Organization. "Identifying genes involved in the nutrient-loading of the rice grain could allow engineers or breeders to develop new strains of rice with higher nutrient levels," said research team leader and Purdue University horticulture professor David Salt. "This could have a major impact on human health since many of the 3 billion people with nutrient deficiencies rely on rice as their main food source."Michiana Crops Conference to focus on bioenergy crops Purdue and Michigan State universities will host the Michiana Crops Conference on Dec. 7 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST at the Blue Gate Restaurant in Shipshewana, Ind. Farmers actively involved with production agriculture and those who assist farmers, such as crop consultants, ag bankers, input suppliers, government personnel and others, may benefit from this conference. Biofuel crops will be the conference's primary topic. For more information or to register, download a registration brochure online at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/dtc.Upcoming Events December 4: Bi-State Crop Management & Market Outlook Workshop December 7: Michiana Crops Conference to Focus on Bioenergy Crops December 19: Postharvest Training & Recertification Workshop
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Citrus juice, vitamin C give staying power to green tea antioxidants 
