SIGNIFICANCE OF SIZE CHARACTERISTICS AND PHYSICAL-MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN SORTING PEANUT SEEDS

ABSTRACT

The article examines the physical and mechanical properties of peanut pods and kernels, including their dimensional and weight characteristics. Studies were conducted on the main peanut varieties grown in Uzbekistan: Perzuvan 46/2, Tashkent-112, and Tashkent-32. The geometric parameters of the pods and kernels, such as length, width, and thickness, as well as the weight of 1,000 pods and kernels, were analyzed. Experimental results show the dependence of these characteristics on the variety and growing conditions. The obtained data are essential for designing equipment used for separating kernels from shells and their sorting. The identified parameters form the basis for optimizing peanut processing methods.

АННОТАЦИЯ

В статье рассмотрены физико-механические свойства арахисовых стручков и ядер, их размерные и массовые характеристики. Проведены исследования основных сортов арахиса, выращиваемых в Узбекистане: Перзуван 46/2, Ташкент-112 и Ташкент-32. Изучены геометрические параметры стручков и ядер, включая длину, ширину и толщину, а также масса 1000 стручков и ядер. Результаты экспериментов показывают зависимость этих характеристик от сорта и условий выращивания. Полученные данные важны для проектирования оборудования, используемого для отделения ядер от скорлупы и их сортировки. Выявленные параметры служат основой для оптимизации процессов обработки арахиса.

Keywords: Peanuts, seed sorting, peanut shell, peanut seed, seed size characteristics, mass of peanut seed and shell.

Ключевые слова: арахис, сортировка семян, бобов арахиса, семян арахиса, размерная характеристика семян, масса семян и бобы арахиса.

Introduction. To process peanuts, that is, to separate the kernels from the shells and sort them, it is essential to study the size characteristics and physical-mechanical properties of both the shells and kernels. This is important because, in the design of devices that separate peanut kernels from their shells and sort them, these characteristics provide a basis for the design dimensions. Uzbek scientists have studied three main varieties of peanuts grown in Uzbekistan. The first variety, Perzuvan 46/2 (large-seeded), was brought from the Azerbaijan Oilseeds Experimental Station. It is characterized by the following indicators: the mass of 1,000 seeds is 460–650 g, the oil content is 53–57%, and protein content is 30%. This variety takes an average of 150 days to mature, with the mass of the seeds making up approximately 70% of the pod mass.

The second variety, Tashkent-112, was developed by the scientists of the former Central Asian branch of the All-Union Research Institute of Plant Breeding (SAVNII), using an individual selection method. This large-seeded variety has a mass of 1,000 seeds of 600 g. The oil content in the kernel is 51–54%, and the protein content is 24–27%. This plant matures in about 148 days in the Central Asian climate. Its yield reaches up to 45 quintals per hectare, with the mass of seeds constituting about 70% of the pod mass.

The third variety, Tashkent-32 (small-seeded), was developed by the former Central Asian branch of the All-Union Research Institute of Plant Breeding (SAVNII) using the individual selection method. The mass of 1,000 seeds is 300–400 g, with an oil content of 54–57% and protein content of 19–21% in the kernels. This variety matures in an average of 130–140 days. Its yield reaches up to 40 quintals per hectare, with the seed mass constituting around 83–90% of the pod mass.

The data presented above indicate that each variety has different seed mass and shape characteristics. This, in turn, is crucial for determining the working process and design dimensions of equipment for separating peanut kernels from shells and various impurities.

Size Characteristics of Peanut Pods and Seeds

Methodology. One of the tasks in justifying the dimensions of the sorting section of the recommended peanut processing equipment—which separates the kernels from shells and various impurities by cracking—is to adjust the size and placement of the sorting sieve holes. Determining the size of the sorting sieve holes requires studying the size characteristics of the peanut pods and seeds. Based on this, statistical parameters for the length, width, and thickness of pods and seeds were examined for Tashkent-112, the most widely grown variety in our country. For this purpose, the peanut pods were divided into single, double, triple, and quadruple cells, and 100 samples were taken from each group. To measure the geometric parameters of the pods and seeds, a caliper with an accuracy of 0.1 mm was used, and the results are presented in Table 1 below [3].

Table 1.

Geometric Dimensions of the Pods and Seeds of the Tashkent-112 Variety

As seen in Table 1, the average length, width, and thickness of peanut pods and seeds vary in different sizes. The length, width, and thickness of the pods changed depending on the number of seed cells contained within them. For example, the average length, width, and thickness of single-celled pods were 19.5 mm, 14.0 mm, and 12.9 mm, respectively. For double-celled pods, the length was 29.6 mm, width 14.4 mm, and thickness 14.9 mm; for triple-celled pods, the length was 38.9 mm, width 14.1 mm, and thickness 14.3 mm; and for quadruple-celled pods, the length was 49.1 mm and the width and thickness were both 14.4 mm.

The average length, width, and thickness of the cracked seeds were 14.5 mm, 8.5 mm, and 7.9 mm, respectively.

Mass of Peanut Pods and Seeds

Result. The process of determining the mass of peanut pods and seeds was carried out by repeatedly measuring the mass of each 1,000 seeds at standard moisture content. The mass depends on the growing conditions and the variety of the seeds, and the determination was made using standardized methods [5]. During the work, an electronic scale of the VLTK-500 type with a measurement accuracy of 0.01 g was used.

Samples of 1,000 seeds were taken from each of the pods and seeds, and their moisture content was determined. The moisture content of the seeds was 11.2%, while the moisture content of the pods was 10.4%. Then, they were weighed several times on the scale.

Table 2.

Mass of 1000 seeds and pods (Tashkent-112)

As seen in the table, the mass of 1000 pods is on average 1692.6 g, while the mass of 1000 seeds is on average 570.4 g.

Mass Characteristics of Peanut Pods and Seeds

The physical-mechanical properties of peanut pods and seeds also include their mass characteristics. The mass indicators of a single peanut pod and seed were measured to study the mass characteristics. For this, 1000 peanut pods from single, double, triple, and quadruple cells were weighed separately. The mass of 1000 seeds was also measured separately for each group.

Table 3.

Values

The weighing was carried out using an electronic scale of the VLTK-500 model with an accuracy of 0.01 g. The obtained results are presented in Table 3.

As seen in the table, the mass indicators of peanut pods and seeds change based on their volume, with their boundary dimensions varying. The average mass of the seeds is 0.569 g, while the mass of the pods varies depending on the number of cells. For example, the weight of a single-celled pod is 0.846 g, a double-celled pod weighs 1.470 g, a triple-celled pod weighs 2.039 g, and a quadruple-celled pod weighs 2.401 g.

In conclusion, the process of separating peanut kernels from their shells and the processing of mixed materials obtained during this process will continue based on the values identified through experiments. These values will serve as the foundation for further research on organizing the process of kernel sorting and processing.

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