Agriculture
— AGRICULTURE —
Breeding Apples
Purdue has the largest apple-breeding program in the world. Jules Janick (MS A’52, PhD A’54), apple geneticist, has created more than 20 varieties of apples and pears. The partnership with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the University of Illinois dates back to 1945, as researchers looked to breed apples resistant to scab caused by a fungal pathogen. Up to the present, 1,500 selections have been made, of which 44 have been released for advanced testing. Some advanced selections have received patents, including GoldRush, Pixie Crunch, CrimsonCrisp, and Juliet.
— AGRICULTURE —
Corn and Sorghum
Purdue researchers developed both high-lysine corn and high-lysine sorghum. The high-lysine mutant gene improves the quality of protein, increasing the nutritional value.
— AGRICULTURE —
Wheat
Campus researchers have developed 24 improved soft red winter wheat varieties and 19 spring oat varieties since 1950. Purdue-developed wheat varieties are grown on more than 80 percent of the US acreage planted in soft red winter wheat.
— AGRICULTURE —
Disease-resistant Plants
In 1993, scientists from Purdue and Cornell Universities cloned the first disease-resistant gene from a crop plant by using a new method of gene isolation. It was the first time a disease-resistant gene had been cloned and moved from one crop variety to another, potentially changing the usage of pesticides. It used techniques that were also used by the human genome copy.
— AGRICULTURE —
Aerial Soil Mapping
Jennings County, Indiana, became the first in the United States to be mapped solely on aerial photographs thanks to Thomas M. Bushnell (A’12), head of soil survey activities in the Agronomy Department in the 1920s. Bushnell was a member of the committee that standardized the description of soil colors using the Munsell system, which is still used today.
— AGRICULTURE —
Prescription Athletic Turf
Ross-Ade features the Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) drainage system, developed by William H. Daniel, professor emeritus of agronomy, and Melvin Robey (A’71), stadium manager, in the early 1970s. It was installed in the stadium in 1975 at a cost of approximately $125,000. The PAT system is a network of pipes connected to pumps that extract water from the grass and can help keep the field playable and virtually divot-proof, even during a storm dumping an inch of rain or more per hour.
— AGRICULTURE —
Mechanical Tree Planter
A mechanical tree planter assembled from old farm machinery by forestry professor Daniel DenUyl (LA’57) in the mid-1940s was the basis for a machine that was used to forest much of the South.
— AGRICULTURE —
Walnut Trees
Purdue Number One, the most widely planted timber tree in the world, was patented by professor emeritus Walter Beineke (A’60). The black walnut tree was genetically engineered to grow faster and straighter than common black walnut seedlings. Beineke taught tree identification, forest genetics, and forestry at Purdue for 35 years. He holds patents on 23 black walnut trees, one black cherry tree, and one white oak.
— FOOD SCIENCE —
Stove Top Stuffing
Ruth Siems (HHS’53) was the creator of Stove Top Stuffing, one of General Foods Corp.’s (now Kraft Foods Inc.) top convenience products. The idea for the product— a quick and easy stuffing — came from marketing, but it fell to research and development to make it happen. Siems was instrumental in developing the ingredients, including bread crumbs that could be quickly rehydrated. She is the first name listed in the patent for a product that quickly gained popularity for both its ease of preparation and its taste.
— FOOD SCIENCE —
Popcorn King
Orville Redenbacher’s (A’28, HDR A’88) Chester Hybrids was a leading regional producer of hybrid corn and small grain seeds. He’d already made a fortune in fertilizer before he built his popcorn empire. In 1970, he entered the gourmet popcorn business with Marshall Field & Co. in Chicago as his first customer. His cheerful folksy appearance, sporting a bow tie and suspenders, was a staple in the TV commercials for the brand. While at Purdue, Redenbacher was a member of the “All-American” Marching Band and Alpha Gamma Rho agriculture fraternity and editor of the Debris, the Agriculturist, and the Purdue Exponent.
— FOOD SCIENCE —
Chicken Nugget
Robert C. Baker (PhD A’57) developed dozens of poultry products but is best known for discovering a method to keep breading attached to bits of chicken during the frying process, enabling them to be eaten without losing their breading. Baker claimed chicken nuggets weren’t too popular when they came out in the 1950s, but today they are a staple in fast-food restaurants.
— FOOD SCIENCE —
Soft Serve Ice Cream
Frank Thomas Jr. (ME’41) created the first patented soft serve ice cream machine, founding the General Equipment Co. in 1929 to distribute his creations. He also helped develop a grill that would flame broil beef patties for Burger King. Thomas sold his own fast-food chain, Burger Chef, and its 1,000 locations for $20 million in 1968.
— FOOD SCIENCE —
Food and Drug Act
Harvey Washington Wiley was among Purdue’s original faculty members in 1874 and conducted research into food adulteration and the use of sugar substitutes. A strong advocated for food and drug regulation, he is considered the father of the Food and Drug Act, which was passed in 1906. Working with Alice Lakey, they helped inspire one million American women to write the White House to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act. He was appointed chief scientist for the Bureau of Chemistry, later to become the FDA. He also formed the first baseball and football squads on campus.
— FOOD SCIENCE —
Master Mix
Before commercial cake mixes were widely available, students in Gertrude Sunderlin’s experimental cookery laboratory in the School of Home Economics developed Purdue Master Mix to save time for busy cooks. Master Mix was announced nationally in the January 1947 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine that included recipes detailing how the base mix could be modified with pantry ingredients such as sugar, eggs, water, vanilla, and spices to create biscuits, pancakes, muffins, waffles, drop cookies, and gingerbread as well as other baked goods. An Indianapolis Star headline touted “Purdue’s Master Mix formula can do all sorts of wonders.”
Original Master Mix Recipe
(makes 29 cups of mix)
5 pounds flour
3/4 cups double acting baking powder
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of salt
2 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups shortening which does not require refrigeration
