Abstract
Up to a quarter of the world’s most critical crops are destroyed each year by high winds, hail, and other natural phenomena. This damage is the result of stalk lodging, which refers to the breaking of a plant’s stem prior to harvest. In order to reduce these damages and meet future grain demand, reliable methods for measuring lodging resistance are required. Through extensive research, two measurable quantities, stalk bending stiffness and stalk bending strength, have been found to relate strongly to lodging resistance. Derived from engineering beam theory, these parameters allow researchers to measure the abstract trait of lodging resistance with calculable quantities. These quantities are most reliable when measured on stalks in their natural environment. The “DARLING” (Device for Assessing the Resistance to Lodging IN Grains) is an electromechanical device that can reliably measure stalk bending stiffness and stalk bending strength in the field. Distributing the DARLING to all parties involved in lodging reduction efforts will result in larger amounts of data being collected. More data will help these parties identify traits of lodging-resistant stalks and develop lodging-resistant varieties through genetic improvement. The most effective way to facilitate this distribution is to sell the DARLING commercially. To advance the DARLING toward this goal, three facets were addressed: improvement of the DARLING’s current design, development of a “Lite” DARLING, and experimental error analysis of the DARLING’s measurements. After making these improvements, the DARLING is better suited for its intended application, more applicable to budget limited research groups, and more accurate in the measurements it obtains. The DARLING is significantly closer to large-scale distribution where it will aid in developing lodging resistance crop varieties critical to meet the growing demand for grain.