| Abstrakt: |
Knowledge of the compressive strength characteristics of seeds is essential for the rational design of an efficient dehulling system and the optimization of the process and product parameters. The aim of the study was to determine the patterns of the crushing force of sunflower seeds of different varieties under compression based on their other morphological properties. The determination of the crushing force of seeds was carried out in several stages. The first stage involved placing the seeds in the required position on a flat horizontal surface of the workbench in the area under a cylindrical indenter (diameter - 20 mm) fixed to a load cell that moves in a vertical plane. The load cell with the indenter fixed on it must be calibrated and at rest correspond to a force of 0 N. The second stage involved the indenter descending uniformly and linearly at a speed of 10 mm/s from the top point. Upon reaching the seed, the force on the load cell begins to increase from 0 N. This moment is recorded as the start of the measurement process. The geometric size of the seed X is then determined, with the workbench surface being the origin (0 mm). The third stage involves measuring the compression force F during the process. When the value of force F decreases, the maximum crushing force of the seed shell Fmax is recorded. A developed module was used to implement the process of determining the crushing force of the seed shell. The study involved 21 samples of sunflower seeds (ZL50A, ZL169A, ZL54A, KP11A, SX75A, 160v, 340v, 162v, 178a, 165ar2, 164g, 174d, 175bp1, 174e, 168b, 168a, 162bp1, 168v, Biločka, Prometheus, Zaporozhye Confectionery) grown under the same conditions. Each sample's number of studied plants (replicates) was 15. The plots for cultivation were established in the experimental field of the Institute of Oilseed Crops of the NAAS in the Zaporizhzhia district of the Zaporizhzhia region (northwestern part), located in the southern subzone of the Steppe of Ukraine. The results showed that the crushing force of seeds F does not clearly depend on the seed's position in the basket (the coefficient of variation does not exceed 0.132), so average values across the entire basket can be used for further research. It was found that the crushing force values of the seed shells F vary among different samples, allowing them to be conditionally divided into three strength groups: the first group (over 50 N: Prometheus, Biločka, Zaporozhye Confectionery, and 160v), the second group (30-50 N: 162bp1, ZL50A, ZL169A, ZL54A, 174d, SX75A, 178a, 174e, 168a, 168b, 175bp1), and the third group (up to 30 N: 168v, 340v, 164g, KP11A, 162v, 165ar2). A correlation between the crushing force of the seed shells F and their huskiness ω was established in the form of a linear relationship F = 189.37ω - 25.713 (coefficient of determination R² = 0.8823). Thus, the strength of seeds can be determined by their huskiness. It has been established that sunflower samples in the second and third groups are viable for food industry producers. However, considering the identified morphological and biochemical properties of the seeds from these groups, further selection should focus on samples on the border of the second and first groups (160v, 162bp1). The third group may also be of interest as material for crossbreeding (168v, 340v, 164g, KP11A, 162v, 165ar2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
