Determination of high seed moisture in maize
2000
Tang, S. | TeKrony, D.M. | Collins, M. | McKenna, C.
Corn (Zea may's, L.) seed moisture content is commonly used as an indicator of seed maturity. The objectives of this study were to determine seed moisture at various stages of corn seed development using a microwave oven and relate these results to several other methods for determining seed moisture. Two genotypes were harvested frequently during seed development and seed moisture was determined by two microwave methods; microwave (intact seed) and microwave (ground seed) and three other methods: oven [intact seed (105 degrees C, 48 and 72h), oven ground seed (130 degrees C, 4h)] and DICKEY-John meter. Methods were compared by analyzing seed samples removed from the mid-section of ten ears harvested at four-day intervals from 31 to 87 days after pollination. The oven (ground) method was the most accurate ever though less convenient because of grinding. The most accurate oven (intact seed) method was after drying for 72 hours at 105 degrees C. The DICKEY-John meter measurement of moisture was more variable, especially at seed moisture > 30%. Regression analysis showed an excellent linear relationship (r2 = 0.98) between the weight loss of ground seed following microwaving (microwave, ground method) and oven (intact) seed moisture across all harvest dates and both genotypes. The microwave (intact) method showed a more variable relationship (lower r2 values) between weight loss and seed moisture A model was developed to estimate seed moisture content based on weight loss using the microwave (ground) method. These results show that the microwave oven can provide a fast (approximately 60 min.) estimate of weight loss for high moisture corn seed, which can be used to accurately estimate seed moisture.
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