Capacitance technique for measuring moisture content using dielectric data an immersion method

The electrical properties of grains and seeds have gained considerable significance with the advancement of new agricultural technology, uses of electrical energy and a variety of devices which utilize or are influenced by the electrical nature of the materials. The dielectric constant (ε) of twelve grain/seed species namely, wheat-type K-68, mustard seed( two varieties), soyabean-type 49, linseed, paddy, pulses and rice have been measured using a capacitance technique in the radio frequency region of 200 Hz-2 kHz. Different varieties of grains have yielded varying ε values. With a view to develop a technique for moisture determination in grain materials, the measurements were extended on five of these system at reduced moisture levels. The observed data exhibited a significant variation with changing moisture level