WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A number of innovations are available for licensing and commercialization through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.
OTC has more than 50 innovations available to license on its website in the Agriculture category. Here are 12 of them. Each entry includes the innovation’s advantages over traditional options and potential applications. Each entry also includes intellectual property protection milestones. Site visitors can bookmark and download entries for future reference.
For more information on innovations available, email the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org.
· Battery-less Wireless Chip-less Sensors for Subsoil Moisture Monitoring
Researchers at Purdue University have developed new battery-less, wireless, chip-less sensors for actively monitoring moisture in sublayers of soil in agricultural applications. The new low-cost, noninvasive sensors created by Purdue researchers allow for large-scale determination of soil quality by actively measuring volumetric water content (VWC). The sensors have been validated by attaching them to two different types of tags and inserting them below ground into soil where they exhibited excellent durability, linear charge, and range of VWC detection.
· Determining Fertility Potential at Weaning Using Lipidome Profiles
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new method for determining fertility potential of young female pigs at weaning using lipidome profiles. Purdue researchers have identified that a low level of fatty acid complexes and a prominent level of two very-long chain fatty acids are a strong indicator of potential long-term fertility. A screening assay has been created with a rapid vaginal swab test for obtaining lipid samples that can be rapidly characterized for lipidome analysis.
· Autonomous Agricultural Vehicle System
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new machine-to-machine system for enhanced grain harvesting efficiency. The technology inputs fill strategy parameters and takes in visual and audio cues form an operator to control the loading, adjust dynamics in plant combines including flow rate, manage plant carts for edges and grain impact points, and conduct cab detection for plant tractors.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new line of sorghum seeds with enhanced properties. Several ideal plant properties have been achieved in this parent seed line including mold-resistance, drought tolerance, and ability to mature earlier than traditional seeds.
· Novel Combination Herbicide for Weed Management
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a combination low dose herbicide. A 10-day study found that the novel combination herbicide inhibited root length growth by 50 percent for Arabidopsis plants.
· Sustainable Platform for High Yield Terpenoid Production
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new biochemical technique for increasing terpenoid yield in plants by up to 130-fold. Plants use this chemical to acclimate to their environments, and as the environment continues to change, terpenoid may help to ensure crop stability. In carefully evaluating factors that contribute to genetic overexpression in plants, new genetic codes have been adapted to promote wild-type plants. Researchers have discovered that wild-type plants overproduce terpenoid, which is ideal because it enhances plant growth, promotes plant health, and helps plants to adapt to stress. This unique approach to crop management can be implemented for plants including rice, wheat, spinach, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, sorghum, and more.
· Alteration of the Plant Hormone Ethylene Response to Improve Stress Tolerance
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new method for stress recovery in plants using genetic tools on a negative regulator Constitutive Triple Response 1 (CTR1) orthologs in ethylene signaling pathway. There are many factors that contribute to plant stress for instance pollution and weather changes including drought, flood, and frost. Plant hormones, including ethylene, help plants adapt to environmental changes. Ethylene is unique because it naturally occurs as a gas, which makes it challenging to control and optimize. Purdue researchers were able to adjust how plants respond to ethylene by making localized alterations of CTR1 to nucleus. In testing with a model plant Arabidopsis, cell function exhibits no signs of disruption and the recovery of plants after stress such as salt and drought is significantly faster. By integrating this technique, crop plants such as tomatoes, potatoes, wheat, rice, cotton, soybeans, have potential to recover more quickly in harsh environments.
· Sensing Dust Concentration Through a Mobile Application
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a mobile phone application using OpenCV algorithms that detect dust concentration. Dust builds up in agricultural and manufacturing settings, causing health hazards to employees, and posing risk of exploding in combination with aerosols. Current technology for detecting dust levels is inconvenient because it is expensive, difficult to install in a workspace, and separates dust matter into multiple filters which must then be weighed and further manipulated for analysis. Sometimes laser scanners are used to detect dust particles, but these devices often report size distribution of particles rather than the actual quantity of particles in a large space. The mobile app created by Purdue University uses a smartphone camera to image and sense dust as well as accurately distinguish it from normal background noise. In testing, the algorithm successfully recognizes ninety-five percent of saw dust and ninety-three percent of cornstarch particulates in the air.
· Non-Destructive Robotic Root Imaging System for Plant Health
Researchers at Purdue University have created a low cost robotic arm with a camera extension that images entire areas around soil. The system identifies roots, saves them computationally by location, and reconstructs size, shape, and depth in 3D. This method is non-destructive and quickly assists in recognizing plant conditions as well as growth patterns. The technique is applicable to breeding, research, farming, and horticulture.
· A Mechanical Device to Improve Powder Flow
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new technology that solves the caking, bridging, and ratholing that occurs in powder flow from hoppers and bins in agriculture and other industries. The technology is a microcontroller actuated portable device that can be remotely controlled. This device mixes with the bulk powder to increase flowability. This device is reusable and can save time, labor, and money. The device itself is also much cheaper than existing technologies. This device could change how the flowability of powder is handled.
· A Simple and Novel Strategy to Improve Beef Quality Attributes in A Consistent and Natural Manner
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a simple process for vacuum packaged fresh beef loin to achieve considerable improvements in tenderness without any adverse impacts on other quality traits. Furthermore, through trials this process showed a marked increase in aging potential of fresh beef as the tenderization process is accelerated, aging time for high-quality beef is shortened.
· Crops with Increased Resistance to Fungal Disease
Researchers at Purdue University have identified a gene that could improve disease resistance in crops susceptible to disease. It confers broad-spectrum and complete resistance in sorghum and other plants, such as wheat, barley, rice, maize, oats, rye, or millet. Genome editing directly in improved and adapted cultivars to generate broad-spectrum resistance will considerably shorten the breeding cycle and make it possible to determine the precise means of regulation. This gene will be useful in generating disease resistant plants.
— Madeline A. Kamats, Purdue Research Foundation
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