Water content in peanut seeds according to conditions of the storage environment

Abstract

The conditions of the storage environment can influence the quality of seeds or grains in relation to commercial quality, deterioration and nutritional characteristics, mainly as a function of temperature and relative humidity. The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of temperature and relative humidity of storage on the water content of peanut seeds. The experiment was developed in a completely randomized design in factorial scheme 5 x 9, with five temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 °C) and nine conditions of relative humidity, each condition had nine repetitions. The seeds were stored in airtight packaging with saturated solutions to maintain a constant condition. The water content in the seeds was evaluated in each condition. The data were subjected to analysis of variance, correlation, regression, multivariate analysis and adjustment with mathematical models. Relative humidity was more expressive in changing the equilibrium water content. The Chung-Pfost model was the most suitable to represent the sorption process in peanut seeds.