Research Area: Food & Ag-Science Innovations
Greg Traxler
Greg Traxler is a TCI fellow working on the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement as a member of the institutional capacity research team. He is an economist with expertise in the areas of agricultural science and technology…
Process Optimization and Product Characterization of Milk Protein Concentrate Extrudates Expanded by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Abstract The effects of water and supercritical CO2 (SC–CO2) addition rate, and pressure at SC–CO2 injection (PCO2) on physical and rheological properties of milk protein concentrate (MPC81) and MPC81-sucrose (MPC81-S) extrudates were investigated. As PCO2 increased, extrudate expansion decreased and storage modulus and hardness increased. PCO2 for MPC81...
Microstructure Modification of Milk Protein Extrudates by Reactive Superficial Fluid Extrusion
Abstract Utilization of supercritical fluid extrusion (SCFX) to alter the microstructure of biopolymers offers new opportunities to design novel products of enhanced utility. In this project, SCFX was utilized to modify the microstructure of milk protein concentrate (MPC) extrudates to develop quick, in-mouth disintegrating products....
Sage Grasso-Monroe
Sage Grasso-Monroe is a research support specialist at TCI. In this role, she assists with the institutional capacity measurement component of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement. Sage received her Master of Professional Studies in Global Development,…
In Vitro Digestion Methods to Estimate Forage Quality and Applied Research on Goat Feeding Systems in Odisha, India
Abstract Measuring forage quality reliably in the laboratory and field is of crucial importance because livestock nutrition is a defining component of system productivity and accounts for a substantial portion of system costs. This dissertation explores both aspects of forage quality estimation with one chapter...
The Green Revolution and Crop Biodiversity
Abstract Crop diversity in the fields of the developing world has changed fundamentally over the past 200 years with the intensification and commercialisation of agriculture. This process accelerated with the advent of the Green Revolution (GR) in the 1960s when public sector researchers and donors...
Soil Health Assessment
Abstract Soil health, or soil quality, is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans. Traditional views of soil quality often considered soils from the perspective of crop productivity and soil chemical properties,...
Foraging and Body Condition Characterization of Goats in Northwestern India
Abstract Our objective was to characterize feeding practices and nutritional status of goats in the Jhadol block, Udaipur district (Rajasthan) in northwestern India. Goat owners (n=64) were interviewed in 10 villages of Jhadol block. The questionnaire targeted aspects of the livestock system including socio-economic characteristics,...
Soil Health Characterization in Smallholder Agricultural Catchments in India
Abstract Soil health (SH) of managed lands in India is affected by anthropogenic activities such as nutrient mining, excessive tillage, and monocropping, which reduce the productive capacity of soils. A comprehensive SH characterization was conducted in 27 catchments in six districts of Jharkhand, India. Each...
Effect of Goat Management Practices on Animal Nutrition and the Environment in Western Odisha, India
Abstract India has a shortage of forage and feed for its estimated 535 million head of livestock. Nutrition is the most limiting factor for goats in India to fulfill their genetic potential. Most Indian goats are managed in extensive grazing systems and information about goat...