Abstract: A method for inhibiting sprouting of tubers including the step of exposing tubers to the aromatic aldehydes or alcohols: benzaldehyde, salicylaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, hydrocinnamaldehyde, cuminaldehyde, thymol, or mixtures thereof.

Abstract: Slug populations can be controlled in minimum or no-tillage methods of crop production using .beta.-carboline carboxylic acids. These compounds and their analogs can be formulated into slug bait compositions for use in erradication of these crop pests. The compositions are extremely effective at luring slugs from crop plants to the bait as well as killing them.

Abstract: An apparatus for bagging produce or other articles which minimizes the impact received by the articles as they are put into bags. The apparatus includes a bag support which may be positioned at a reduced angle to the horizontal to decrease the height of fall of the produce into the bag, but which also eliminates the problem of the formation of a single layer of the articles in the bag. The bag support may be used in conjunction with other produce bagging devices conventional in the art for automated or semi-automated bagging of produce or other articles.

Abstract: Forage crop plant materials are treated with a laser thereby puncturing the epicuticular wax layer of the plant leaves rendering the materials more accessible to microbes and/or enzymes. The products of this treatment are characterized by enhanced digestibility and therefore have utility as upgraded ruminant feed.

Abstract: An apparatus for the mechanical bagging or packaging of produce or other articles susceptible to damage upon impact. The apparatus includes a tiltable support for temporarily holding a quantity of produce and having an end portion for discharging the produce or articles when tilted. A bag positioning assembly is provided to position a bag around the support such that the end portion of the support is nearly adjacent the closed end of the bag. When the support is tilted, the produce or articles will settle towards the closed end of the bag. Because the bag is positioned around the support, the impact and damage to the produce or articles is minimized.

Abstract: An insect trap for attracting and capturing flying insects. The apparatus includes a chamber for holding an insect attractant and exposing the same to a current of air, and having a first opening allowing passage of air but not insects therein. Positioned opposite the first opening, at least one funnel-shaped entrance to the chamber allows entry of the insects into the trap, as well as passage of air currents and entrained attractant odors out of the trap. An insect collection container, optionally having a one-way entrance, is also provided, and communicates with the chamber through a second chamber opening and the one-way entrance. Proper orientation of the trap in the wind is achieved by mounting a wind vane or fins onto the exterior of the chamber so as to position the first opening upwind, and the funnel-shaped entrance to the chamber downwind from the first opening.

Abstract: A method for the treatment of plant material to provide a protein-rich product and oil relatively free of gossypol. The process includes the steps of:a. contacting plant material with an aqueous monohydric alcohol solvent to extract oil and gossypol from the plant material and form a miscella fraction including the solvent, oil and gossypol, and a plant material fraction having gossypol removed therefrom;b. separating the solvent from the oil and gossypol in the miscella, preferably by membrane separation under pressure in a membrane separation unit, to form a first (retentate) fraction comprising the oil and gossypol, and a second (permeate) fraction comprising the solvent; andc. contacting the first fraction with an adsorbent effective to separate the gossypol from the oil therein.The plant material and oil remaining after the process are relatively free of gossypol and may be recovered for subsequent use. The plant material is especially valuable as a protein-rich food product or feed.

Abstract: An automatic apparatus for the continuous freeze concentration of liquids. The apparatus includes a heat exchanger for freezing the liquid to form a slurry of ice crystals and concentrated liquid. Communicating with the heat exchanger via a line or pipe is at least one, and preferably two, separating and rinsing columns, connected in parallel, to which the slurry is pumped for separating the concentrated liquid from the ice and subsequently rinsing the ice to remove any residual liquid therefrom. First and second receptacles are provided for collecting the concentrated liquid and the ice from the columns, respectively.

Abstract: A process for nondestructively determining the moisture content of single articles such as single grain kernels, seeds, nuts, fruits, or other biological or agricultural products. The article is inserted into a microwave resonant cavity coupled to a microwave radiation source and a measuring circuit. Measurements of the energy dissipated in the sample and the shift in frequency (or wavelength) due to the presence of the article in the cavity are made at each of two orientations differing by about 90 degrees with respect to the maximum electric field vector. The moisture content is subsequently determined from the ratio of the averaged values of the energy dissipated to the shift in frequency. The process is particularly useful for determining the moisture content of articles of irregular or variable shape.

Abstract: Diesters of glycolic acid are effective yarn lubricants for use in the textile industry. These compounds also inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi.

Abstract: A male-produced aggregation pheromone was demonstrated in Carpophilus hemipterus (L.) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) using a wind-tunnel bioassay. The attractiveness of the pheromone is greatly enhanced by volatiles from a host plant, and combinations of pheromone and food volatiles typically attract 3-10 times more beetles than either source by itself. The pheromone consists of a series of 13-, 14-, and 15-carbon unsaturated hydrocarbons, the most abundant of which is 3,5,7-trimethyl-(E,E,E,E)-2,4,6,8-decatetraene.