Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

Analyzing soil water retention

Analyzing soil water retention

Researchers from the University of California worked at the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan to discover where carbon goes in soil

 
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Michael Schaefer, a former postdoctoral researcher from the department of environmental sciences at the University of California Riverside, discusses how he used the technology at the Canadian Light Source. He analyzed the carbon found in soil that had cover crops and soil without.

Dmytro Diedov/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo




Trending Video

Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker


Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.