Influence of various types of drying on the germination and physico-mechanical properties of pea seeds

   Seed drying affects the quality of seed material. To select a suitable drying method for green peas, the authors studied the effect of convective and vacuum drying, as well as a combination of drying and preliminary microwave treatment of seeds on the germination and physic-mechanical properties of peas. The temperature of convective drying in an oven ranged between 65 and 70 °C, vacuum drying in a vacuum rotary dryer was carried out at the same temperature and a pressure of 0.9 MPa. Preliminary microwave treatment of seeds was carried out at an electromagnetic field frequency of 900 MHz and pulsed radiation lasting for 60 s. Peas frozen at –20 °C and pre-blanched were tested as a fresh sample. The mechanical properties of freshly defrosted and dried peas were measured using a texture analyzer, Structometer ST-2. The color of pea grains was measured with a three-filter colorimeter KFK-2. The completely dry product was obtained after 24 hours of processing for both drying methods. As a result of drying, the geometric and arithmetic diameter of pea grains decreased by 21 to 23 %. During convective drying, the loss of sphericity in peas was observed in 4 to 5 % of the grains. During vacuum drying, as contrasted to convective drying, a statistically significant decrease in the density of pea grains by 6 to 7 % and load by 50 to 70 % was observed. Microwave treatment of seeds, especially in combination with convective drying, has a statistically significant effect on the mechanical properties and internal texture of peas. Vacuum drying, unlike microwave processing and convective drying, does not affect the seed color. Vacuum drying with preliminary microwave treatment ensured the highest germination of pea seeds of 95 to 9 7%. The greatest efficiency of vacuum drying with preliminary microwave treatment of green peas makes this type of drying a good option for harvesting and processing legumes.

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