Abstract
A device for measuring the moisture content of agricultural materials has been developed and tested with fourteen materials including tubers such as yams as well as fruits and vegetables such as plantain, tomato, cucumber and onions. The resistive sensor, constructed with a 0·51 mm diameter inert platinum wire, was designed to be sensitive only at its measuring tip and the resistance measurements were made at 50 kHz. Experiments were conducted to determine the functional relationships between resistance, moisture content, depth of penetration and probe separation. Analysis of the results showed that the sensor is quite sensitive and stable for measuring moisture content in the range of 30 to 90%, wet basis. The correlation coefficients of resistance with moisture content, probe separation and depth of penetration obtained were found to be greater than 0·94. The sensor can provide information on internal moisture profiles inside fresh fruits and vegetables. Also green crops were found to contain relatively less moisture and showed correspondingly higher resistances than ripe crops which contained more moisture and exhibited correspondingly lower resistances.
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