TITLE:
Drying Temperature Effect on Kernel Damage and Viability of Maize Dried in a Solar Biomass Hybrid Dryer
AUTHORS:
Joseph O. Akowuah, Dirk Maier, George Opit, Sam McNeill, Paul Amstrong, Carlos Campabadal, Kingsly Ambrose, George Obeng-Akrofi
KEYWORDS:
Solar Biomass Hybrid Dryer, Drying Temperature, Maize Moisture, Stress Crack, Germination
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.8 No.11,
November
26,
2018
ABSTRACT: Though several maize varieties have been developed
and introduced over the years in Ghana, farmers still face challenges of access
to quality seed maize. Among the major constraint is lack of proper drying systems to guarantee quality of seed produced.
As in most parts of Africa, drying of maize in the open, on bare ground along
shoulders of roads is still a common practice in Ghana. In this study, a
5-tonne capacity hybrid solar biomass dryer was developed for drying maize for
seed and food/feed in Ghana. Effect of air temperature in the dryer on the
physiological quality and germination of maize kernels was investigated. Maize
grains were dried in the open sun simulating farmers practice and using the
dryer at 4 varying levels (L1, L2, L3 and L4) with corresponding heights (0.6 m,
1.2 m, 1.8 m and 2.4 m, respectively) from the ground. Harvested maize at 22.8%
moisture content was dried at the varying levels until reaching the final
desired moisture content of 12.8% ± 0.2% (wb). Results showed that, air
temperatures in the dryer increased in accordance with height with lowest mean
temperature of 44.4°C ± 4.6°C recorded at L1 and mean maximum of 52.8°C ± 5.4°C
at L4. Drying temperatures recorded at L1 - L3 and ambient had no significant effect (p