Dielectric spectroscopy for agricultural applications

Dielectric properties of agricultural products are of interest for sensing moisture content through its correlation with the dielectric properties of cereal grain and oilseed crops, because of their influence on the dielectric heating of products at microwave or lower radio frequencies, and because of potential use for sensing quality factors other than moisture content. Examples of these uses are presented and results of dielectric spectroscopy measurements on insects, grain, and fruit are shown that provide information on the frequency and temperature dependence of the dielectric properties. With further research and development, dielectric properties data over wide ranges of frequency might be useful for other quality determinations in agricultural products.