18th Annual Student Research Conference
Science
Viability of Wet Inorganic Phosphorus Determination in Corn versus Spectroscopic Phosphorus Determination
Erik A. McGuire* and Emily C. Dunn
Dr. Mark Campbell, Faculty Mentor
Viability of Wet Inorganic Phosphorus Determination in Corn versus Spectroscopic Phosphorus Determination Erik McGuire, Emily Dunn , Dr. Mark Campbell The use of low phytic acid corn is believed to help alleviate problems associated with phosphate pollution. Data has been obtained though the application of Near Infrared Transmittance Spectroscopy (NITS) suggesting that it can be used to distinguish between low-phytic acid corn possessing the recessive allele lpa1 and corn with normal levels of phytic acid. The advantages of NITS for this determination include cost effectiveness and the nondestructive nature of the testing. The previous method for low phytic acid versus normal phytic acid corn involves a wet-chemistry based analysis that takes several days to complete. Although this method has been proven to be an effective way of distinguishing corn high in inorganic phosphorus (low phytic acid) and wild-type corn, it is destructive and costly when performed frequently. This study shows how using the NITS method is a viable alternative to traditional wet-chemical testing.
Keywords: phytic acid, corn, phosphorous, spectroscopy
Topic(s):Agricultural Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 25-1
Location: VH 1432
Time: 9:45