Investigation of hygroscopic properties of the spelt grain

One of the ways to solve the problem of deteriorating human health can be the widespread use of plant products, among which the most valuable are vegetable oils, including amaranth oil. It contains a complex of vitamins, micro- and macroelements, unsaturated fatty acids and essential amino acids and a unique natural biologically active substance, squalene, which performs a number of key functions in the human body. However, post-harvest processing of amaranth grain, in particular drying, and its subsequent storage in different conditions can significantly impair its valuable natural properties. The research presents the results of studies of changes in the chemical composition and microbiological characteristics of amaranth grain in the process of drying and storage in different conditions, which will ensure its guaranteed quality during storage. The effect of drying amaranth to humidity of 9% at temperatures of 50 °С and 60 °С , has been studied on the total amount of saponified substances, content of squalene, linolenic, linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids, which were determined by gas – liquid chromatography. It has been found that after drying amaranth grain there is a decrease in the content of saponified substances by 10% and squalene by 14% compared to freshly harvested grain, and the content of free fatty acids in the unsaponified fraction remains unchanged. When storing amaranth during the year at temperatures of +5 °С, +15 °С and +25 °С and relative humidity of 55% and 75%. Changes in the content of such basic indicators of grain quality as protein, starch, fiber, fat, ash, as well as acid number and acidity of fat were determined. At the same time, the protein content decreased by 13.5%, starch by 8.7%, fat by 29.0%. The content of fiber and ash has not changed. Under the same storage conditions, there was also a significant deterioration in the quality of fat -acid number increased by 6.9 times, the acidity of the alcohol extract by 2.9 times. When storing amaranth at a temperature of +5 °С and a relative humidity of 55%, the decrease in the content of the main components was significantly smaller and amounted to 8.1% for protein, 2.9% for starch and 4.2% for fat. Under the same conditions, the activity of microorganisms is significantly reduced, which allowed to recommend these storage conditions for industrial use.

The structure of loading different crops onto vessels at the company Ukrelevatorprom’s grain terminal has been considered. The total grain shipped in 2012–2015 was comprised of 33.7–41.5% of maize, 19.7– 32.2% of wheat, 14.4–26.0% of rapeseed, 6.7–14.2% of barley, and 5.4– 11.0% of soya beans. When forming a 35,000-tonne grain shipload, grain lots stored in silos are sometimes of lower quality than contracts require: the protein and gluten contents can be inappropriate, or there can be smut grains or those damaged by sunn pests. The accepted technology of grain shipload formation does not guarantee that the grain quality will be uniform throughout the whole period of loading a vessel, especially in the beginning. In the first 1,000 tonnes of a grain shipload formed, the weight content of wet gluten was found to be 22.6% instead of 23%, the Falling Number was 145–180 s instead of 230s, and the content of smut grains was not the tolerable 5%, but 6.95–7.8%. The subsequent 2,000–3,000 tonnes of wheat, too, had the Falling Number lower than the contract prescribed (142–215 s), and only further on, its value achieved the required range 295–356 s. In the wheat sample formed from 5,000 tonnes, only the test values of the Falling Number (176s) and the content of smut grains (5.1%) were different from what the contract required. The calculated arithmetic means of the quality parameters of the 5,000-tonne wheat samples formed were practically the same as those determined experimentally, except for the values of the Falling Number and the smut grain content. The values of the coefficient of variation obtained showed that the grain lot was of non-uniform quality: it varied in such parameters as the foreign material (20.82–50.93%), sunn pest-damaged grains (7.41–25.76%), Falling Number (8.76–36.36%), and smut grain content (35.88–78.34%). Application of linear programming methods to optimise the shipload composition has allowed all the quality parameters to meet the contract requirements. Loading grain from all silos simultaneously, with the optimum flow ratio, will result in its even distribution in a shipload, and the grain lot will be of higher quality by all the parameters the contract specifies.

The paper presents the results of studies of how the electromagnetic field (EMF) of extremely low frequencies (ELF), magnetic induction of the EMF, and the duration of processing and storage affect the quality characteristics of wheat grain of the cultivar Shestopalivka harvested in the Odesa Region in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Treatment of grain with the EMF of the frequencies 20 and 30 Hz and with magnetic induction of 5 and 10 mT for 2–20 min reduces the germination capacity of wheat, as compared with the control, by 1–12%. As an exception, in several experiments, the germination capacity increased. The biggest increase (by 14%) was observed when the duration of treatment was 12 minutes, the frequency 30 Hz, and the magnetic induction 5 mT. Treatment of grain for 6 min with the EMF at the frequencies 10–28 Hz and with magnetic induction showed that at 10, 18–24 Hz, the germination capacity increased by 1–5%, but after 15 days, at the frequency 12–26 Hz, the germination power increased by 1–9%. A month later, with the frequency 18, 20, and 28 Hz, the germination power exceeded the control by only 2–7%, and after 10 months of storage, only the experiment with the frequency of treatment 24 Hz was at the control level. With all other frequencies, there was a significant decrease in grain germination. It has been established that treating grain 15 days prior to sowing at 14–22 Hz increases the germination capacity by 7–9%, and it reaches the values 92–94%. In the grain treated with the EMF at 10–30 Hz and stored for 14 months at the controlled air temperature 9–23°C and the relative humidity 33–82.5%, the protein content on a dry basis did not change compared with the control (16.5%). Storage of grain treated for 6 minutes with an EMF at 10–30 Hz, the magnetic induction being 10 mT, allows increasing the gluten content by 1.07–1.21 times, as compared with the control. The biggest increase in the amount of gluten is achieved at the frequency 16 Hz. Even under unfavourable conditions, at the temperature 23°C and relative air humidity 82.5%, the gluten quality goes up by 27.65 conditional units of the device VDK (1.49 times) and becomes as high as the gluten quality of grain that was preserved under far better conditions, at 9°C and the humidity 33 %. When grain is EMF-treated for 6 min at 10–30 Hz, with the magnetic induction being 10 mT, under different storage conditions, this most often affects the content of stearic and gondoic acids. The biggest changes in them were noted during storage at 9°C and the relative air humidity 82%: gondoic acid increased by 12.5–18.7%, and stearic acid decreased by 15.5–25.0%. Under any other conditions of EMF treatment and storage of wheat grain, changes in fatty acids are within the allowable error.

The article presents the results of studying the indicators of the crumbling of granules and the specific energy costs of experimental batches of granulated feed for broilers. The process of granulation of compound feed for broilers was studied using the statistical planning method of a multifactorial experiment using a granulation line, including a granulator press. The dependence of the crumbling of granules and the energy consumed on the selected factors has been established. The moisture content of the feed mixture W (%) and steam pressure P (MPa) were chosen to optimise the granulation process. A matrix plan of the experiment was compiled. With the optimal values of the factors obtained in the study using the experimental planning method, an experimental batch of granulated feed was developed. At the selected levels of factors, the calculated value of the crumbling of granules was 20.11%, which fits into the optimum according to the standard of the crumbling of granulated feed for poultry (no more than 22%). The specific electricity consumption was 9.23 kWh/ton. Experiments have shown that the discrepancies between the experimental and calculated data are insignificant and within these indicators' experimental error determination. Mathematical modelling of the granulation process of loose compound feed for broilers made it possible to solve an important practical problem – to optimize the granulation mode, which ensures the production of good quality granules with minimal energy consumption. The obtained optimal granulation parameters can serve as the basis for producing granulated feed for broilers.

Анотація. Для України пшениця є важливою зерновою культурою, що покриває велику частину продовольчого забезпечення, підвищує економіку країни шляхом експорту зерна, а також використовується на кормові та технічні потреби. У статті наведено результати аналітичних досліджень динаміки та трендів змін посівних площ, врожайності, валового збору, показників якості зерна пшениці в Україні у період 2000–2019 рр. та чинників, що них впливають. Предметами досліджень були статистичні дані з посівних площ, внесення добрив, урожайності, валового збору та якості зерна пшениці, зібрані зі статистичних бюлетенів та збірників Держстату України, літературних даних, а також власних даних із зернозаготівельних підприємств півдня Одеської та Миколаївської областей. Результати проведених аналітичних досліджень показали, що у період 2000–2019 рр. щорічні площі посіву пшениці коливалися при загальній тенденції до збільшення площ посіву. Однак, уже з 2008 р., коли була засіяна найбільша площа під пшеницю (7116,3 тис. га), подальший тренд став негативним, тобто площа під пшеницю поступово зменшувалась і в 2019 р. склала 6683,5 га. За досліджений період відбувались хвилеподібні зростання врожайності з 1,98 до 4,36 т/га та валового збору пшениці з 10,2 до 28,2 тис. т. Однак, поряд з цими тенденціями, відмічено погіршення якості зерна пшениці за деякими показниками. Так, у 2004–2019 рр. середня натура пшениці по країні була від 770 до 808 г/л, що задовольняє вимогам більшості експортних контрактів, які коливаються у межах 750…770 г/л на партію. За даними підприємств півдня України у 2019 році спостерігалося надходження окремих партій пшениці з натурою 670 г/л. Пшениця цього періоду вирізнялась високим показником числа падіння, яке було в межах 292…380 с (за виключенням 2004 та 2015 рр. з найменшими значеннями, відповідно 226 та 286 с). Зростання числа падіння пов’язане, у першу чергу, з кліматичними умовами та сушінням свіжозібраного врожаю. Вміст білка з певними коливаннями суттєво не змінювався та був у межах 11,3…13,0 %. За даними підприємств нині все частіше зустрічаються партії пшениці 4 класу зі значенням білка 9,2…10,0 %, у них найчастіше збільшений вміст пошкоджених клопом-черепашкою зерен — до 5…6 %. Класоутворюючий показник «вміст клейковини» змінювався у межах 21,6…26,9 %. Порівняння співвідношення «клейковина – білок» показало, що його значення, коливаючись у окремі роки, знаходилось у межах 1,8…2,1, що свідчить про нестабільність виходу клейковини по відношенню до вмісту білка. Треба відмітити, що щорічно виділяються певні «проблематичні зони» стосовно зміни якості зерна пшениці за окремими показниками. Таким показником у 2019 р. є низька натура пшениці, за якою зерно доводиться переводити до 4-го класу. Актуальним та маловивченим питанням залишається формування партій пшениці на експорт з використанням некондиційного за деякими показниками зерна.