Physical quality of grains subjected to moistening and drying processes for marketing

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate the physical quality of conventional and transgenic corn grains, through drying and wetting processes for marketing. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme (7 × 3 × 2), corresponding to seven drying times (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 min), three temperatures of the drying air (80, 100 and 120 °C) and two hybrids of corn (conventional AG 1051 and transgenic Herculex@ 30S31H). Grain drying was held in convection oven with forced air ventilation while the wetting was done in a B.O.D chamber. The water movement in the grain, the volume and the electrical conductivity were evaluated periodically. The results showed that the transgenic corn grain reduced the negative effects of drying and moistening on the physical quality. The increase in drying air temperature accelerated the physical deterioration of conventional and transgenic corn grains. The increase in water content by the moistening process caused losses in grain physical quality, similar to the drying process, for both the conventional and transgenic corn grains.