Studies on the Physical Changes in Corn Seeds during Hybrid Drying (Convection and Microwave)

Petru Marian Cârlescu (), Mihai-Marius Băetu, Radu Roșca and Ioan Țenu
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Petru Marian Cârlescu: Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Mihai-Marius Băetu: Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Radu Roșca: Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Ioan Țenu: Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: Hybrid seed drying technology, based on convection and microwave drying, is a modern method, and the research on the physical changes in cereal seed resulting from hybrid drying is still in its infancy. The aim of the present paper is to study the uniformity of the drying process by examining the physical changes occurring in corn seeds. An innovative drying equipment, combining convective and microwave drying, was used to dry corn seeds (variety DKC5068). The convective drying was performed during the pneumatic transport of the seeds, using hot air at a maximum temperature of 50 °C; the microwave-based drying was performed using 2.45 GHz microwaves. Thus, the seeds were volumetrically heated at a temperature which does not exceed 44 °C. The physical changes in corn seeds were measured in terms of moisture, volume, cracking and color. The results regarding the moisture and volume changes in the seeds during the drying process proved that moist seeds are more homogeneous than dry seeds. The change in volume also changed the stiffness of the seeds, which showed greater homogeneity after drying compared to wet seeds. Hybrid drying led to an average shrinkage of 8.76% compared with the original seed volume, while the percentage of seeds showing cracks after drying increased by 22%. Generally, the drying process also led to color changes, but in the case of hybrid drying the results were inconclusive. Hybrid drying of corn seeds requires a shorter time and does not significantly influence physical characteristics, compared to other drying technologies.

Keywords: moisture; stress crack; stiffness; color (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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