Publication:

Reduce Ambrosia contamination to zero with customised grain cleaning solutions

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    Authors & editors

    Publisher Milling & Grain
    Year of publication 2019 September
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    Medium Digital
    Edition1
    Topics

    Cereal processes > Cereal and milling science

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    Scope & contentBy Dr Heike Knörzer, Head of Petkus Academy / D-99848 Wutha-Farnroda

    Ambrosia free, is not only a quality label for bird food. It is an insurance policy against a weed that is in most countries an alien invasive species threatening both health and crop production. When experts talk about an integrated systems approach to limit and prevent the spread of Ambrosia artemisiifolia, also known as common ragweed, they tend to disregard a major pillar.

    Apart from quarantine arrangements, plant protection measures and crop cultivation practices, proper - and sometimes sophisticated – seed and grain cleaning processes are also immensely important.

    In most cases indeed, the species was accidentally introduced into other countries with contaminated seed. Every single Ambrosia seed can produce a plant that produces 3,000-to-32,000 seeds in return. The achenes are globose to pyriform with a length of two-to-three millimetres and can survive in a dormant state for 40 years.

    Ambrosia threat on human health and crop production…Read more.

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