1. Grain crop drying, handling and storage By SAMIR
ALBADRI
2. Introduction -Major food crops such as cereal grains and
tubers, including potatoes, are normally seasonal crops. -Food
produced in one harvest period -Seed must be stored for: .Gradual
consumption until the next harvest, .Seed must be held for the next
seasons crop -Crop tends to raise prices during the off-season
3. Aim of any storage 1- To maintain the crop in prime
condition for as long as possible 2- The storage and handling
methods should minimize losses we need to consider other factors,
such as 1- economies 2-labour cost and availability 3-building
costs and machinery cost
4. Grain drying 1- safe storage natural and artificial drying,
followed by drying methods suitable for the small grower 2- Various
types of storage structures and systems, from family size up to
commercial units
5. storage
6. Properties of grains Cereal grains are edible seeds Grains
can be divided into three groups; 1-cereals(maize, wheat, millet,
rice, etc.), 2-pulses (beans, peas, cowpeas, etc.), 3-oil seeds
(soybeans, sunflower, linseed, etc.)
7. Bin Types Low profile bins 12-13 ft depth Deep bins 17-18 ft
depth Hopper-bottom bins
8. Bucket Elevator Animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS6Vofx8PvY
9. Bin Systems Safety equipment Loaders/augers Power sweep
Perforated Floor Fans Dryers & heat recyclers Aerators
Ventilators
11. Storage Goals 1-Avoid crop loss at harvest 2-Prolong crop
storage life 3-Maintain crop quality 4-Increase value of crop
5-National/international availability
12. Commercial Grain System
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfGCx1AmyZo
13. Storage Principles Proper crop condition going into storage
Control moisture Control temperature Control insects
14. Recommended Grain Storage Moisture
15. Moisture - High moisture content leads to storage problems
- Moisture encourages fungal and insect problems - Moisture starts
to decrease as the crop reaches maturity and the grains are
drying.
16. Temperature - Grains are biologically active and respire
during storage - One of the products of respiration is heat and
reducing the temperature of the crop can help to diminish the rate
of respiration - Temperature effect is on the activity of insect
and fungal problems. With lower temperatures
17. Insects Weight loss: as insects develop they will feed on
the produce. Losses vary with the commodity, for grain and legumes
-Insect activity also increases with a rise in temperature.
18. Effects in storage at different temperatures and moisture
content
19. Moisture content -The moisture content of a crop is
normally given on a wet basis (wb) and is calculated as follows
(%mcwb): -Occasionally dry basis (db) moisture content is given and
it is important to know which has been used.
20. Grain will normally be harvested at a moisture content of
1825 percent (wb), although it can be substantially higher or lower
depending on many factors such as:- -the stage of maturity -season,
-weather -drying facilities
21. Moisture content measurement Laboratory Farm
22. Grain Conditioning Technology We dry a crop because we
choose to harvest a slightly wet crop to avoid harvest losses
23. Permanently Installed Grain Temperature Cables
24. Top Dry System
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_ydF-3Pvs
25. Management Moisture content for crops: Shelled corn at 13%
to 15.5% Wheat, barley, oats at 13% Sunflowers at 8% to 10% No
advantage to frozen grain Clean grain has uniform air spaces
Distribute/eliminate fines in bin
