INFLUENCE OF HUMIDITY ON TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF OAT GRAIN

Abstract

The relatively high gross oat grain yeild significantly reduced its government procurement. Poor equipment and technical base of farms, large financial costs do not allow to organize proper post-harvest grain processing for stabilization and improving its quality. Grain is often stored in the producer farms in anticipation of the subsequent sale in unsuitable and primitive places not adapted for this storage. The grain without post-harvest handling and drying may develop structural-mechanical and physical-chemical changes that have a significant effect on the processing properties and its suitability for the finished item production. The use of such grain for processing may lead to the development of non-standard or low-quality products. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of humidity on the technological properties of oat grain. Coryphaeus oat varieties of different moisture collected in the foothills of the Altai Territory in 2014 were selected for the tests. The definition of bushel weight has shown that with 2.3 times increase of moisture, the oat bushel weight grain is decreased 1.5 times. The study of the morphology and structural-mechanical properties of the oat kernel suggests structural and mechanical changes of grain. Results of thermo-mechanical studies showed that with the 2.3 times increasing of oat kernel humidity its deformation increased 8.6 times. 3.5 times increasing moisture reduces the density by 6.5%. The studies suggests that grain moisture greatly affects the technological properties of oat grain.

Keywords

• oat grain
• humidity
• core
• mechanical strength
• bushel weight
• density
• nucleus surface morphology