Award Data

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic chemical which does not occur naturally in the environment,it has been used in many commercial applications. A number of scientific findings since the late 1990's have elevated PFOAs to the category of great environmental concern beacuse of its persistence, and the potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Effective environmental and health pr ...

Lettuce is a major vegetable crop grown in the United States with a farm gate value in 2003 of $2 billion. For crops such as lettuce, the vegetative leaves of the plant are the harvested material. Because lettuce must be harvested before it flowers, premature flowering, or bolting, reduces crop quality and yield, and therefore is a leading cause of profit loss to farmers. Lettuce cultivars with en ...

Small businesses are the bedrock of the American economy. To bring economic development to rural America, these regions must have more effective tools for attracting and retaining the businesses that will provide the jobs and investment these communities need to thrive. The proposal seeks to apply an existing technology, Geographic Information Systems, on a proven platform, DecisionTree, in an inn ...

Recreation trails are a key component of the social, economic and health of rural communities. People with mobility impairments are often excluded from trails, shared-use paths, parks and other public areas where barriers are erected to prevent access by motorized trail vehicles (MTVs), to control livestock or wildlife, as an access point in a fenced area, or for a variety of other reasons. Many p ...

The waste of unprocessed vegetable matter from normal harvesting can be used to create feeds for livestock and the pulp can be used to produce methanol for fuel. We feel that we should use all resources to their fullest potential. To create a refined machine that will allow the field processing of current waste products into viable feed and fuel products.

Noxious, invasive weeds cause billions of dollars per year in damage to the environment. Progress in invasive weed control has been retarded by lack of commercially feasible diet to support mass production of specialist insects that control major noxious weeds. Such damage could be reduced by natural enemies of noxious weeds, but a means to mass produce the insects is not available for economical, ...

Extensive worldwide reservoirs of rabies virus (RV) in wildlife and stray dogs continue to pose a serious risk of lethal infection of humans and cause a high economic burden. Immunization of wildlife and stray dogs with live vaccines is the only effective method to control and eventually eliminate rabies in carnivore species worldwide. In this application we propose to select canine adenovirus typ ...

Economic losses due to inadequate ripeness detection in the orchard and post-harvest continue to plague the apple industry. It is anticipated that the in-orchard/packinghouse sensor approach will significantly reduce the waste/spoilage-to-edible-fruit ratio, thereby increasing fruit quality and availability and resultant consumer demand at the domestic retail level as well as in the export market. ...

Durable, economical, and highly functional erosion control materials for use in high stress, arid and semi-arid environments are not generally available. And, few uses exist for value-added products made from woody residuals created by small-diameter forest thinning and wildland/urban interface fuels reduction operations. The project will create a durable erosion control system using the lowest va ...

Varroa jacobsoni (Oudemans) (= V. destructor) is a parasitic mite of honey bees Apis mellifera (L.), that has had a catastrophic effect on populations of managed and feral honey bee colonies, beekeepers and the beekeeping industry worldwide. Honey bee colony losses in the United States range between 40% and 80% annually. These losses are stressing the bee industry's ability to provide adequate pol ...