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 Course Details

Course Principles of Seed Technology

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Lesson 13 Seed Drying, Processing And Their Steps

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Professor Jayashankar Telangana

BONTHA VIDHYADHAR Course Reviewer State Agricultral University ,
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2
 Lecture 13

THRESHING – SEED EXTRACTION –METHODS

DRY AND WET EXTRACTION

Carefully harvested produces are to be carefully threshed / extracted to remove the seeds
from fruit / panicle / pod.

A. Threshing / Extraction

Removal of seeds from dry fruits are known as threshing while that of w et fruits are
known as extraction.

Hand threshing for dry seed separation

Common method mostly performed by women labour. Relatively cheap, easy and
make use of surplus local labour. Usually adopted for threshing high value vegetable
seeds. Hand threshing may be done in the following ways.

a. Rubbing – Rubbing seeds materials with a pressure in an open-ended trough line

with ribbed rubber (bamboo contained). This method is quite suitable for pod
materials such as brassicas and radish.

b. Beating – the seed materials is beaten with the help of wooden pliable sticks
repeatedly with a tolerable force as the seeds are separated but not broken.

c. Flailing – specially designed instruments are used for separating the seeds from
the plants . E.g Sweet corn.

d. Rolling – seed materials is rolled on threshing floor or tarpaulin repeatedly and

seeds are easily separated.

e. Walked on –the seed material is spread on the threshing floor and children or
other persons are asked to walk on the seeds materials till the seeds are
 separated. Seeds which have been hand threshed are usually still mixed with the
plant debris and further separation is done by winnowing or sieving.

Seed extraction from wet or flashy fruits

The selected fruits are harvested for seed in the same way that is picked for the
market. The seeds extraction from wet / flash fruits can be done by the following
methods.

1.Manual method

2.Fermentation method

3.Mechanical method

4.Chemical method
 5. Juice and seed extraction method

Manual Method

(a) Maceration e.g watermeion, (b) Crushing e.g brinjal, (c) Scraping e.g.,
cucumber (d) Separated e.g., muskemelon , (e) Scooping e.g. pumpkins and (f)
Extraction e.g squashes.

1. Dry Extraction

Dry extraction is done either manually or mechanically. Manual extraction is by beating

with pliable bamboo stick or by beating against a hard surface. Threshers (LCT) are used
for mechanical extraction. In this method care should be taken to avoid
mechanical injury.

2.Wet Extraction

It is normally practiced in fleshy fruits of vegetables like tomato, brinjal,

bitterground, snakegourd and ashgourd. Among these, extraction is easier in brinjal and
ashgourd as the fleshy pulp’s interference is less. Seeds are separated with pulp and are
washed with adequate water and for removing the slimyness, seeds are washed with 0.1% HCI
for 2-3 minutes. In chillies, dry extraction using curry powder grinder is preferable than
soaking in water and squeezing off the fruit rind. In tomato seed extraction is done either by
fermentation method or acid method. Alkali method (Na2CO3) and citric acid method are
also available but are not practiced widely.

3.Fermentation Method

Fruits with pulp and seed are squeezed and kept as such for 24-48 hours. The seeds will settle
down. Decayed pulp and immatured seed will float. The settied seeds are
washed with more of water. The seeds are shade dried and then sun dried before using.
Care should be taken to avoid germination of seed during fermentation. The seeds will
be dull in colour.

4. Chemical method

i.Alkali method

This method is relatively safe and can be used for small quantities of seed in cooler temperate
areas where the fermentation mentod is not used. The plp containing the extracted
tomato seed is mixed with an equal volume of a ten per cent solution of sodium carbonate
(washing soda). The mixture is left for up to 48 hours at room temperature and after washed
out in a sieve and subsequently dried. This method is not suitable for commercial seed
production as sodium carbonate tends to darken the testa of the seed.

ii.Acid method
 Acid method is often favoured by large commercial seed producers as it produces a very
bright clean seed. Addition of 30ml of hydrochloric acid per litre of seed and pulp mixture,
stirred properly and left for half an hour then the seeds are washed thoroughly with
water, sieved and dried. The benefits of this method are (i) seed extraction and drying
is done on the same day, (ii) higher seed recovery, (iii) the problems of low and high
temperatures are avoided, (iv) discoloured seed resulting from fermentation is entirely
avoided and (v) remove external seed borne pathogens.

B. Grading

The threshed produces are precleaned either manually or mechanically and are
graded using different but optimum sieve of specified sizes. This grading bring
homogeneity in the lot which aids in obtaining uniformity among the population in the
subsequent sowing.
 Lecture 21
DRYING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS
Most of the agricultural and vegetable seeds are Orthodox in nature. In these
seeds, low moisture extends the storage life of seeds.
Seeds are to be dried to low moisture i.e below 10% for effectivefurther
storage even if it is temporary storage.

Seed drying can be taken either under sun or by using

mechanical driers.
Most of the fruit and plantation crops are of Recalcitrant nature are to be
dried under shade as they loose their viability due to rapid drying.
Drying of vegetable seeds under sun between 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm is found
to be harmful to seed quality maintanence, due to the presence of more of UV rays
at that time.
Seed Drying means …
Removal or elimination of moisture from the seed to the required level.
Drying of seeds is done by following methods:
 Sun drying(Natural Drying)
 Forced air drying (Mechanical drying)
 Use of desiccants (Chemical) for drying
1. Natural Drying (or) Sun drying
Here the seeds are uniformly sprcad over clean dried yard and allowed for
drying to the required moisture level. The seeds should not be dried under
hot sun during 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm as it causes damage to seeds by UV
rays. This method depends on weather conditions, which are unpredictable
one.
Advantages
Easy process.
Cheap method.
Requires no additional equipment
Does not require any expenditure on electricity or fuel.

Disadvantages
More chance for mechanical admixture
 Seed loss is more while drying due to insects, birds and animals.
Takes long time for drying.
 Uneven drying.
High weather risk and damage due to sudden rain or heavy
wind.
2. Mechanical drying (or) artificial drying
Forced air is used for seed drying by the following three means.
a. Natural air drying:Natural air is blown upon the seeds using suitable air
blower for drying. Continuous drying is possible in this method. In
modern seed godowns provisions are made to forcible circulation of air
with the help of electric blower or fan. If the outer air is comparatively
dry, this method is followed. So it is possible only during dry months.

b. Drying with supplemental heat:Small quantity of heat is applied to raise

the air temp to 10-200 F for reducing the relative humidity of air used for
drying.In this, drying is performed quickly due to use of dry air, but
continuous drying for long period affects seed quality.
c. Heated air Drying: The air is heated considerably as much as by 1000 F
(400 C) and used for drying the seeds. Very quickly the seeds get dried.
The seeds should not be continuously dried as it causes damage to seed.
High moisture seeds should be dried by this method.
Advantages Quick method
 Perfect drying is possible even under
unfavourable weather condition.
 Seed loss is minimized.
Disadvantages
Requires specialized equipment and machine, which is costly.
Care should be taken while drying the seed using hot air, as it causes
damage to the seed.

Tempering is to be followed while drying the seed in this method.

TYPES OF DRIER
 Metal bin drier
 Vegetable seed drier
Metal bin drier
Here the seeds are placed in a metal bin and the heated air is blown in to
the bin through the perforations made at the bottom of the bin. In this
uniform drying of all layer is not possible for which you have to decide the
thickness of the seed layer to be taken to the bin and also have to stir the seed
manually or mechanically at regular intervals.
 Vegetable seed drier: In this drier, the seeds are separated over the bottom
screen seed trays which are kept inside chamber or cabin. The heated air is
passed to dry the seed. The heat is generated by electrical source and the air
is passed through trays. Here uniform drying is possible.
Batch-Dryer
In bin batch dryers, the seed is placed in a (usually round) bin, and
ambient or slightly heated air is blown through it by a fan. The maximum
thickness of the seed layer in the bin depends on the initial moisture content,
the type of seed, the air temperature and RH and fan horse power. To obtain a
uniform airflow through the seeds, a full perforated floor is required.
A 0.8-1.0 m layer of seed at 20% moisture can be dried to 14% within 24 hrs
without affecting germination using 30-350C and 50-60%RH air at a rate of 5-
8m3 per minute per m3 of seed.
After the seed in a bin has reached the acceptable average moisture content, a
moisture gradient will remain from the top to the bottom of the
seed. The surface layer will have a moisture content above the average and
 the bottom layer of the bin will be lower than average. Thus, proper

• mixing of the seeds is essential before further storage or packaging. This can be
addressed by installing one or more grain stirrers to mix the entire content of a bin
for 3-12 hours.
• Wagon Batch- Dryer

• A grain transport wagon can be transformed into a wagon batch-dryer by

equipping it with a plenum, a perforated floor, and a fan/heater unit coupled
with a canvas transition to the wagon. The drying principles of a wagon batch
dryer and a bin batch dryer are similar. Wagon batch dryers are most frequently
used for drying fragile. Seeds such as large-seeded legumes (eg. field or garden
beans and peanuts). The recommended air flow rate for the ambient –air wagon
drying of a 1.5m layer of peanut seeds is 0.25m of air per m of floor area.
3 2
Use of seed desiccants (Chemical drying): In this method silica gel or fused calcium
chloride (CaCl2) is used to absorb the moisture from the seed and its surrounding
environment.

Silica gel are of two types, as

i)Indicator type
ii)Non-indicator type
- Active ingredient in Silica gel is Lithium chloride, which is
responsible for drying process. Silica gel can absorb moisture upto 15 per
cent of its weight. So to get very low moisture content we can use
this, which is not possible in mechanical driers.
- Indicator type will be blue in colour and on absorbing moisture, this
turns to pink colour. So we can remove this and reuse after
dehydration. Non – indicator type will be white in colour and remains same
(white)
even after absorption of moisture content. So there is no indication in this
type. But this can also be reused after dehydration.
-Calcium chloride is used for most of the vegetable and flower seeds of
breeding material. Here the quantity needed is more. It can absorb 10 per
cent of its weight.
-The method is suitable for drying small quantities of seeds only. It is a
sophisticated and costlier method.

Advantages
Easy method
Less time consuming
Drying rate is uniform
 Disadvantages
 Costly method
 It cannot be used in large scale
 A skilled person is required to monitor the operation

The rate of drying the seed depends upon the following factors :
 The moisture content of the seed
 The existing relative humidity and temperature of the environment
 Depth of spread of seeds
 Rate of air blow
 Drying temperature
 Size and capacity of the drier and
 Kind of seeds
Tempering
When the heated air is used for drying, moisture content in the surface layer of the seed is
removed at a faster rate, while the moisture present inside tends to reach outside slowly to
maintain the equilibrium. On continuous drying a pressure gradient is developed
inside the seed due to difference in moisture content between the dried outer layer and
drying inner layer of the seed. This results in the damage of seeds by formation of
formation of hair like cracks in the seed. Hence tempering is to be followed. It refers to
the discontinuation of drying operation for a specified period to allow the moisture
present in the interior of the seed to migrate all over the exterior portion uniformly.
 SEED PROCESSING-

OPERATIONS PRIOR TO EXTRACTION-PRE-CLEANING, METHODS OF

EXTRACTION- OPERATIONS AFTER EXTRACTION- CLEANING, GRADING
AND CONTROL OF MOISTURE LEVEL- FACTORS AFFECTING DRYING OF
ORTHODOX SEEDS.
• 4.1 Introduction
• The purpose of extraction and associated
processes is the maximum production of clean
seed having high viability (Stein et al. 1974).
The processes involved include one or more of
the following: maceration and depulping,
drying, separation, tumbling and threshing,
dewinging and cleaning.
• 4.2 Operations Prior to Extraction Temporary
storage at the processing depot
• No matter how much trouble is taken, conditions for
fruits and seeds are seldom ideal during transit from
the forest to the seed processing depot.
• This is particularly the case if the journey is prolonged
over several days.
• It is important therefore that fruits should be
unloaded as soon as they arrive at the depot,
inspected and placed in storage conditions which
provide protection from rain, exclusion of rodents
and birds and continuous free air circulation round
the fruits (Aldhous 1972). Without such care fruits
and seeds may suffer considerable deterioration
between arrival at the depot and the extraction of
seed.
• If moulds are allowed to develop on cones or fruits,
they not only degrade the batch on which they occur
but can form a source for infection of other batches
by fungal spores.
• Because of the seasonal nature of most fruit and
seed harvesting, large quantities of fruits are often
collected within a short period.
• Seed extracting machinery has a limited capacity, so
some of the fruits cannot be processed immediately
on arrival at the depot.
• Temporary storage is thus unavoidable. In some
species it is also highly desirable, because it allows
time for maturation and drying of seeds prior to
further processing. When deliberately applied for
this purpose, this type of storage/air drying is known
as precuring.
• In most cases, pre-cleaning of fruits is done soon
after their arrival at the depot but, if the volume of
fruits arriving at the same time is very high, pre-
cleaning of part of the consignment may have to be
deferred; in this case part of the storage period will
precede the pre-cleaning operation and part will
occur between pre-cleaning and extraction.
• Fruits should be stored in a dry, cool, well-ventilated
place to prevent moulding or heating. Depending on
species, condition of fruits and processing
techniques, sacks of fruits or cones may be emptied,
loosely refilled and placed on storage racks; or the
fruits may be spread in trays, on a storage floor or,
under cover, on the ground (Stein et al. 1974).
• Floors of brick or wood are suitable, but fruits should
not be placed directly on concrete floors because of
moisture problems (Morandini 1962, Turnbull 1975
c).
• 4.3 Pre-Cleaning
• Cones and fruits need to be cleaned of twigs, bark,
foliage and other impurities before they go for
extraction, cleaning, storage or sowing.
• In large extraction plants cleaning is accomplished
with oscillating screens or vibrators. Precleaning by
flotation is an alternative method.
• In small operations the major debris may be
removed by hand (Turnbull 1975 c). The impurities
take up needless space. In addition leaf and twig
fragments may carry fungal spores of e.g. needle cast
disease of which the seeds themselves are free.
• These spores are a potential threat not so much to
the seeds as to the newly germinated seedlings and
to nursery stock and plantations in the vicinity of the
nursery. Impurities are more easily removed before
than after extraction.
• 4.4 Methods of Extraction
• The methods of extracting seeds from fruits are
determined mainly by the characteristics of the
fruits.
• Fleshy fruits are treated by a depulping process
which usually involves a combination of soaking in
water with pressure or gentle abrasion.
• Cones and other woody or leathery fruits are first
dried until cone scales open or seeds become
detached from the placenta of the fruit, and then
treated manually or mechanically by tumbling or
threshing in order to separate the dry seeds from the
dry fruits.
• Bonner (1978) has classified hardwood seeds into
three classes according to their requirements for pre-
storage handling and storage.
• The classes are:
• (1) seeds that must be dried for extraction and for
storage;
• (2) seeds that must be kept moist at all times, both
during cleaning and during storage (i.e. recalcitrant
species); and
• (3) seeds that must be kept moist for extraction,
then dried for storage. His table of some important
hardwood genera classified in this way is reproduced
on the following page.
 4.4.1.Depulping
• Depulping of fleshy fruits should be done soon after
collection to avoid fermentation and heating.
• Small lots of seed are usually macerated by hand.
After soaking, the flesh is hand squeezed or mashed
by a wooden block, rolling pin or fruitpress.
Alternatively flesh may be macerated by rubbing it
against or through a screen (Stein et al. 1974). The
pulp and skins can usually be separated from the
seed by washing through appropriate sieves or by
differential flotation in a deep bowl through which a
slow stream of water is flowing (Aldhous 1972). The
seed sinks while the pulp rises to the surface.
• Seeds may be washed free of flesh hydraulically. Fruit
is placed in a mesh bag or wire basket and subjected
to a stream of water from a high-pressure nozzle
until all of the flesh and most of the skins are washed
away (Stein et al. 1974).
• After separation orthodox seeds should be carefully
air dried under cover, with frequent turning.
Thereafter they can go forward for shipment to the
nurseries or for treatment to adjust moisture content
to the correct value for the species, before storage.
• Where large quantities of fruits have to be depulped,
various designs of machine are available. They
include feed grinders, concrete mixers, hammer mills
and macerators. Most machines only free seeds from
the flesh; a part or all of the residue must be
removed in later cleaning.
4.5 Operations after Extraction
• When seeds have been extracted from their fruits,
several operations are needed before they are fit to
go into storage.
• Sound seeds must be separated from empty and
non-viable seeds and from inert fragments of fruits;
winged seeds of some but not all s need to be
dewinged; if seeds are to be stored, their moisture
content must be tested and, if necessary, raised or
lowered to the percentage most suitable for storage.
If uniformity in growth of nursery stock is considered
desirable, seeds may also be graded by size.
• Inert material takes up space both in storage and
transport and may cause uneven stocking in the
nursery seed beds.
• It also carries a greater risk of introducing pests or
diseases than do the seeds themselves; for example
spores of needle cast are carried on needle
fragments rather than seeds.
• Cleaning to a high standard of purity is easy in some
species, but more difficult in others. Cleaning of
seeds to a purity higher than a given percentage is
undesirable in some species; beyond that, an
increasing amount of good seed is separated out
with the impurities (Goor and Barney 1976).
4.5.1 Cleaning: Seed Cleaning Methods
• The main characteristics by which sound seeds may
be distinguished from inert matter including sterile
and empty seeds are size and shape, specific gravity,
colour and surface texture. The ease with which
sound seeds can be differentiated depends on
• (1) The degree of difference which exists between
the seeds and the matter to be separated from them
and (2) the degree of uniformity among the seeds
themselves (Turnbull 1975 c). Colour, size and shape
are useful criteria for visual separation, while most
seed cleaning machines make use of seed size and
specific gravity.
• Screening and sieving methods separate by seed or
particle thickness or diameter; the indented
centrifugal cylinder by particle length; liquid flotation
and blowing, fanning and winnowing methods by
specific gravity; while frictional cleaning methods
rely on differences in surface texture.
• Modern cleaning machines often combine more than
one method, so that the cleaning process is both
effective and quick.
• However, the species and the amount of seed to be
handled will determine whether cleaning is best
carried out by hand, by improvised equipment or by
specialist machinery.
Screening or sieving
• In most cases a number of sieves with different sized
perforations are used and the cleaning is a process of
gradually sifting out smaller and smaller particles.
• It is not only the size of the perforations which
determines the quality and quantity of the seed
cleaned; other important factors include the
precision of the perforations, the angle at which the
sieves operate, the amplitude and speed of
movement of the sieves, and the correct cleaning
and maintenance of the equipment.
• Sieves or screens may be made of flat perforated
plate or wire mesh, and sometimes they may be
three dimensional such as funnelshaped sieves.
• For small samples hand held sieves are adequate, but
in larger scale cleaning a series of shaking screens is
commonly used.
Sorting according to length
• Cleaning with sieves relies on the separation of
seeds, with diameter the critical factor. Fractionating
according to length cannot be done with sieves, but
this is possible with an indented cylinder.
• In addition to its use for separating good seed from
the impurities, the equipment is used in agriculture
for separating seed mixtures and can also be used for
grading seeds.
• The equipment consists of a slightly inclined
horizontal rotating cylinder and a movable separating
trough. The inside surface has small closely spaced
hemispherical indentations.
• Small material is pressed into the indents by
centrifugal force and can be removed. The larger
material flows in the centre of the cylinder and is
discharged by gravity. Depending on the type of
impurities, the seed may be separated via the
indentations or by passing down the cylinder.
Blowing
• Cleaning by blowing is a very important and widely
used method. It is based on the principle that any
object can float in an airstream of sufficient velocity.
• For separation in an airstream there are three
possibilities: falling, floating or rising. The behaviour
of the seed and other matter will depend on their
weight, their resistance to the flow of air (volume
and shape), and the velocity with which the air
moves.
• The operation of blowing is often referred to as
winnowing or fanning. In its simplest form the
uncleaned seed is thrown into the air on a windy day.
The components separate out and the desired ones
are retained. Indoors the airstream from a fan can be
Liquid flotation

• Cleaning by flotation relies on the principle that the

density of the seed of a given species is specific both
for filled and unfilled seed.
• There are two basic methods used:
i. density method in which liquids with a density or
specific gravity between that of the full and empty
seed are used. The specific gravity of the liquids
used is usually below 1.0 and such that the full
seed sinks and the empty seed and light debris
float.
ii. absorption method in which water is used and,
although both full and empty seeds float initially,
after some time the full seeds absorb water,
become heavier and sink. The time of soaking can
vary from a few minutes to several hours. This
method is useful where there is a very small
difference between the specific gravities of the full
and empty seeds. The seed must be re-dried after
being separated.
• The flotation methods can separate out insect
attacked, mechanically damaged, and immature
seeds from filled mature seeds. The density method
can only be applied if a liquid of suitable density is
available which is not harmful to the seed.
Friction cleaning
• Most debris can be removed from the seed by air-
screen combinations, but leaf fragments, resin
particles and other objects of similar size and density
to the seed are difficult to remove.
• Friction cleaning relies on the principle that any
object falling or sliding over a surface encounters a
certain friction.
• The movement of the particle is proportional to its
weight and to a coefficient of friction which depends
on the nature of the particle's surface and the
surface on which it moves.
• Separation of seed from debris is made on an
inclined cloth or rubber belt on the basis that the
angle necessary for the run-off of the seed differs
from the angle necessary for run-off of the debris.
• A continuous upward moving belt removes seeds
downwards by gravity and the lighter debris upwards
by friction.
Specific gravity seperation

• This method makes use of a combination of weight

and surface characteristics of the particles to be
separated. It is a method which is finding increasing
use in separating and grading tree seeds.
• The specific gravity (SG) separator employs a
flotation principle. A mixture of seeds is fed onto the
lower end of a sloping perforated table.
• Air, forced up through the porous deck surface and
the bed of seeds by a fan, stratifies the seeds in
layers according to density, with the lightest seeds
and particles of inert matter at the top and the
heaviest at the bottom.
• An oscillating movement of the table causes the
seeds to move at different rates across the deck; the
lightest seeds float down under gravity and are
discharged at the lower end, whilst the heaviest ones
are kicked up the slope by contact with the
oscillating deck and are discharged at the upper end.
• The specific gravity separator will separate particles
of the same density but of different size, and
particles of the same size but of different densities.
• It will not separate efficiently particles which differ
both in density and size, i.e. separate a larger but less
dense particle from a smaller but denser particle.
• It has been found practical for cleaning the chaff
from some eucalypt seeds and for grading pine seeds
(Guldager, 1973). Purity % of uncleaned seed of E.
grandis after extraction is about 10 %. This was
raised to 95 % purity with 95 % germination by SG
separator treatment.
Other cleaning methods

• A number of other methods of seed cleaning have

been used experimentally, but are not yet in
widespread operational use.
• They include electronic and electrostatic separators,
magnetic separators, electronic colour separators
and shaking tables, which separate seeds by the
angle at which they rebound when thrown against
fixed walls. They are described by Klein et al. (1961)
and Oomen (1969).
4.5.2 Grading
• Within a single species there is a variation of seed
dimensions due to environmental influences during
the development of the seed and to normal genetic
variability.
• The performance of the seed immediately after
germination is related to seed size and, in order to
produce a crop of seedlings which will emerge and
grow evenly in the nursery, size grading of seeds can
be a useful practice.
• Size grading can also assist mechanical sowing of
seeds. The practice should be used with caution in
the case of seeds collected from seed orchards
having a restricted number of clones.

• Since part of the variation in seed size and shape is

genetic, grading of seed orchard seed could lead to
excessive genetic differentiation and loss of genetic
diversity within each of the fractions obtained by
grading (Simak 1982).
• The methods of grading seed vary little from those
used in the cleaning process. Sieving and screening,
cylinders, air blowing, flotation and specific gravity
separation can all be used effectively for size grading
tree seeds.
• Although grading itself is a relatively simple
operation, seeds of certain species have to be
properly processed before they can be graded, for
example the spongy exocarp of teak fruits and the
calyx tubes of dipterocarps must be removed in
order to get the full benefits of grading.
• The cleaned stones of Gmelina arborea have been
graded by using square-mesh screens of 7,9 and 11
mm mesh (Woessner and McNabb 1979);
germination varied from 84 % for the smallest to 111
% for the largest size class (there are usually 1 to 3
seeds per stone).
4.5.3 Control of Moisture Content
• After seeds have been cleaned and graded, they are
ready for sowing in the nursery.
• If, however, they are to be put into storage, it is
necessary to check their moisture content (MC) and,
if necessary, adjust it to the optimum level for
storage of the species in question.
• Adequate facilities for testing MC should be available
in the seed processing depot.
• For orthodox seeds, which comprise most
coniferous and many hardwood seeds, adjustment of
MC if needed means further drying.
• For example promising results have been achieved
for Acer pseudoplatanus by soaking the seeds in
water for two or three days and immediately
afterwards freezing and storing them at about -7°C in
plastic sacks (Barner 1975b).
 4.5.4 Factors affecting drying of orthodox
seeds.
• Although relative humidity is the most important
single factor affecting the equilibrium moisture
content of seeds, it is not the only one.
• (1) Temperature. As already explained, temperature
has a large indirect effect on EMC because, if absolute
humidity is kept constant, relative humidity is directly
related to temperature. It has an additional effect
because EMC varies slightly with temperature even
when relative humidity remains constant. The
difference is slightly greater in some other crops, but
in all cases EMC decreases with increasing
temperature and constant RH (even though absolute
air humidity increases with temperature at the same
RH).
• (2) Absorption and desorption. For any species there
is a difference of 1 – 2 % in the EMC according to
whether a moist seed is losing moisture to a drier
atmosphere (desorption) or a dry seed is gaining
moisture from a moister atmosphere (absorption).
• The EMC is always higher on desorption and it is the
desorption curve which is important in the common
situation of drying orthodox seeds from a higher to a
lower MC for storage.
• (3) Variation in EMC according to species. The MC of
seeds in equilibrium with a given RH and
temperature varies with species. The EMC for each
species must be determined by trial.
• An important component in interspecific variation is
the percentage of oil content in the seeds.
• Seeds which store most of their food reserves as
proteins or starch have a higher EMC at a given RH
than seeds which store food as fats and oils, because
the former are relatively hydrophilic, the latter
hydrophobic.
References :
http://www.fao.org/3/ad232e/AD232E03.htm#ch3
Assignment :
Give a note on seed processing
Mention factors affecting drying of orthodox seeds.
THANK YOU