Research publications using Vibe analyzers

Identifying and overcoming challenges in scaling up malted rice for commercial malting and brewing

BrewingScience

A pilot-scale follow-up to the team's earlier rice malting study, scaling malting from lab batches to ~150 kg pilot production across two malthouses and six breweries, with kernel length and width measured on a Vibe QM3 grain analyzer.

South Dakota State University

Thesis or dissertation

Evaluating the Potential of Genomic Selection for Grain Yield and Yield Component Traits in South Dakota Winter Wheat

SDSU Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Open PRAIRIE)

Kernel length, width, and area across 1,391 SDSU winter wheat breeding lines were measured with a Vibe QM3 grain analyzer, feeding genomic prediction models that found kernel traits are predictable enough to support early-generation selection for grain yield.

University of Arkansas

Developing Quick Screening Method to Identify Rice Cultivars with Unique Aromatic Features

ACS Omega

A Vibe QM3 Rice Analyzer measured kernel length, width, length-width ratio, and color on brown rice across 126 rice genotypes, supporting a rapid volatile-compound and sensory screening method for distinct rice aroma profiles.

South Dakota State University

Registration of a recombinant inbred line population from a cross of weedy and cultivated rice

Journal of Plant Registrations

A Vibe QM3i grain analyzer measured filled-spikelet length and width across a 396-line recombinant inbred population from a cross between weedy red rice and a cultivated breeding line, supporting a high-resolution linkage map and germplasm resource for studying weedy-rice trait genetics.

rice

weedy rice

recombinant inbred lines

Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences

2025

Improving panicle blast resistance and fragrance in a high-quality japonica rice variety through breeding

Frontiers in Plant Science

Marker-assisted backcrossing introgressed blast-resistance genes (Pigm, Pi-ta) and the aroma gene badh2 into Huruan1212, producing lines with improved panicle blast resistance and fragrance while maintaining high eating and cooking quality.

Washington State University / USDA-ARS

2025

Influence of genotype and environment on field pea composition and milling traits

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Eight yellow pea genotypes grown across four locations were evaluated for composition and milling performance. Image analysis quantified seed size/shape traits to link genotype-by-environment effects with dehulling, splitting efficiency, and flour yields.

field pea

pulse milling

genotype-by-environment

Multi-institutional collaboration (Fraunhofer IIS + collaborators)

2025

Utilizing X-ray radiography for non-destructive assessment of paddy rice grain quality traits

Plant Methods

A proof-of-concept workflow that uses single 2D X-ray radiographs of whole paddy rice grains to non-destructively infer chaffiness, chalky rice kernel percentage (CRK%), and head rice recovery percentage (HRR%).

rice

paddy rice

X-ray radiography

non-destructive testing

computer vision

chaffiness

Investigating the Malting Suitability and Brewing Quality of Different Rice Cultivars

University of Arkansas

Investigating the Malting Suitability and Brewing Quality of Different Rice Cultivars

Beverages

A brewing-focused evaluation of rice cultivars for malting, linking cultivar-dependent differences in wort/beer quality metrics to grain and processing characteristics.

Clemson University

2022

Evaluation of Methods for Measuring Fusarium-Damaged Kernels of Wheat

Agronomy

Across 1,266 wheat entries, this study compared manual counting, NIR spectroscopy, visual scoring, and Vibe QM3 measurements of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) against DON quantified separately by GC/MS. In this dataset, QM3-derived FDK scores showed the strongest statistical relationship with laboratory DON results among the methods compared (R² = 0.63, rising to 0.76 when deployed as genomic estimated breeding values). QM3 did not directly measure DON.

USDA-ARS + university collaborators (URSN / U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative)

Research report

Report of the 2024 Uniform Regional Scab Nursery for Spring Wheat Parents

Uniform Regional Scab Nursery Report (USDA-ARS / U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative)

Multi-location URSN report summarizing Fusarium head blight performance of spring wheat parent lines across MN/ND/SD sites, supported by USDA and the U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative.

University of Arkansas

Understanding demand for broken rice and its potential food security implications in Colombia

Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

Rice samples purchased by consumers in Colombia were processed with a Vibe QM3 Rice Analyzer to measure broken-grain percentage, chalk percentage, length, and width, linking milled-rice quality to consumer demand and food security implications.

University of Haifa / Weizmann Institute of Science

36-year study reveals stability of a wild wheat population across microhabitats

Molecular Ecology

A Vibe QM3 seed analyzer measured seed characteristics in a common-garden experiment as part of a 36-year genetic study of a wild wheat population, linking stable ecological microhabitat clustering to measurable phenotypic differences between genotypes.

wheat

wild wheat

population genetics

microhabitat adaptation

common garden

Genome-wide association analysis of spike and kernel traits in the U.S. hard winter wheat

South Dakota State University

marker-assisted selection

2023

Genome-wide association analysis of spike and kernel traits in the U.S. hard winter wheat

The Plant Genome

Kernel length, width, and area were recorded with a Vibe QM3 grain analyzer across 297 U.S. hard winter wheat accessions, feeding a genome-wide association study that identified 53 marker-trait associations for spike and kernel traits.

Characterization of yellow pea (Pisum sativum L.) genotypes for performance (agronomic and quality) and stability across environments

USDA-ARS Western Wheat and Pulse Quality Laboratory / Grain Legume Genetics and Physiology Research Unit

2023

Characterization of yellow pea (Pisum sativum L.) genotypes for performance (agronomic and quality) and stability across environments

Cereal Chemistry

Thousand-seed weight of 21 yellow pea genotypes across Washington test environments was measured with a Vibe QM3i Grain Analyzer, feeding an analysis of agronomic performance, quality, and genotype-by-environment stability.

yellow pea

field pea

genotype-by-environment

North Carolina State University

structural equation modeling

2022

A network modeling approach provides insights into the environment-specific yield architecture of wheat

Genetics

Kernel morphometric parameters (length, width, area, weight) measured with the Vibe QM3 grain analyzer fed a structural equation model mapping how QTL effects on yield components translate into overall wheat yield across five environments.

Marker-assisted forward breeding to develop a drought-, bacterial-leaf-blight-, and blast-resistant rice cultivar

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) / ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research

2021

Marker-assisted forward breeding to develop a drought-, bacterial-leaf-blight-, and blast-resistant rice cultivar

The Plant Genome

Grain dimensions (length and breadth) of drought-, bacterial-leaf-blight-, and blast-resistant rice introgression lines were measured with a Vibe QM3 image analyzer to confirm grain quality was preserved alongside the introgressed resistance and drought-tolerance traits.

rice

marker-assisted breeding

drought tolerance

bacterial leaf blight

blast resistance

Rice quality and its impacts on food security and sustainability in Bangladesh

University of Arkansas / Texas A&M University

2021

Rice quality and its impacts on food security and sustainability in Bangladesh

PLOS ONE

Rice samples from Dhaka retail markets were assessed with a Vibe QM3 Rice Analyzer for broken-grain percentage, chalk percentage, color, length, width, and homogeneity, feeding a hedonic price model of how rice quality affects market pricing and food security in Bangladesh.

University of Arkansas

Thesis or dissertation

2021

Are Rice Markets in Bangladesh Efficiently Pricing Rice Based on Quality? An Empirical Assessment

University of Arkansas Graduate Theses and Dissertations (ScholarWorks@UARK)

A Master's thesis assessing whether Bangladeshi rice markets efficiently price rice by quality, using a Vibe QM3 Rice Analyzer to objectively measure broken-grain percentage, chalk percentage, color, size, and homogeneity across retail rice samples.

Wageningen University & Research / HarvestPlus (CIAT)

2020

The acceptance of zinc biofortified rice in Latin America: A consumer sensory study and grain quality characterization

PLOS ONE

Grain length, length-breadth ratio, and chalkiness of zinc-biofortified and control rice varieties in Bolivia and Colombia were measured with a Vibe QM3 image analyzer and linked to consumer sensory acceptance scores from 243 adults.

Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences

2020

Engineering Herbicide-Tolerance Rice Expressing an Acetohydroxyacid Synthase with a Single Amino Acid Deletion

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

A Vibe QM3 rice analyzer measured 1000-grain weight, grain width, and grain length on engineered herbicide-tolerant rice lines to confirm the AHAS mutation did not compromise grain quality.

USDA-ARS / University of California, Davis

gelatinization temperature

2020

Identification of Rice Mutants with Altered Grain Alkali Digestion Trait

Plant Breeding and Biotechnology

Grain length and width of rice mutants with an altered alkali spreading response were measured with a Vibe QM3 Rice Analyzer, supporting genetic analysis showing the trait is controlled by a single recessive mutation.

Effect of Rice Cultivar, Type, Form, and Moisture Content on the Angle of Repose

University of Arkansas