SEED PROCESSING AND SEED
CLEANING
SEED PROCESSING
• Seed processing is necessary in order to dry the seeds
to safe moisture level;
• remove or reduce to the extent possible the various
undesirable material, weed seeds, other crop seeds,
deteriorated or damaged seeds;
• uniform size grading and seed treatment to upgrade the
over all seed quality.
• Seed processing refers to all the steps necessary for
preparation of harvested seed for marketing, namely,
handling, drying, shelling, preconditioning cleaning,
size grading, treating and packaging
Factors to be considered in planning and designing a seed
processing plant
1. Kinds of crop seeds to be handled
2. Size of operation
3. Whether drying facilities should be required;
4. Selection of suitable equipment;
5. Location of the plant;
6. Source of power for running machinery;
7. System of seed delivery to processing plant; and
8. Availability of labour
Type of Layouts
a) Multistorey: In this system, seed is carried by elevators
to the top floor and emptied into large bins. Cleaning
machines are then arranged in a vertical series on the
lower floors.
b) Single level: In the single storey plant, seed is moved
from one machine to the next by elevators placed
between the machines.
c) Combined designs: A compromise between the single
and multistorey system could also be adapted.
SEED CLEANING
• Pre-cleaning & Pre -conditioning: It refers to the
operations such as shelling, debearding etc. that
prepares the seed lots for basic cleaning and also for
the removal of particles such as trash, stones, clods etc.
larger than crop seed.
1. Scalper or Rough Cleaner
2. Huller Scarifier
3. Debearder
4. Maize Sheller
SEED CLEANING
1. Scalper or Rough Cleaner: The single sieve pre-
cleaners are called as scalpers and the multiple sieve units
are referred as rough cleaners
2. Huller Scarifier: Hulling (removal of an outer coat or
husk) and scarification (scratching of the seed coat) can be
done separately or jointly with a huller scarifier
3. Debearder: Debearder removes the hair like structures
present on the seeds
4. Maize Sheller
HULLER/ SCARIFIER
BASIC SEED CLEANING
• It refers to actual cleaning and grading of seeds and
is essential process in seed cleaning operation.
• The basic seed cleaning is done over an air screen
machine commonly referred to as an air screen
cleaner
1. Aspiration: the light seed and chaffy material is
removed from the seed mass through aspiration.
2. Scalping: Good seed are dropped through screen
openings but large material (trash, clods etc.) are scalped
off over the screen into a separate spout.
3. Grading: The good seed ride over the screen
openings, while smaller particles (undersized, weed
seeds, shriveled) drop through the screen perforations.
PARTS OF AIR SCREEN CLEANER
[Link] hopper
2. Screens
3. Clay crushing rolls
4. Brushes
5. Tappers or screen knockers
6. Shoes
7. Eccentrics
8. Fans
9. Air Chest
DIFFERENT SCREENS/ SIEVES
DIFFERENT SCREENS/ SIEVES
Principle of Operation of air screen machine
1. The air blast removes lightweight seed and chaffy seed. 2.
Scalping screen removes material larger than the crop seed.
3. Grading screen drop out material smaller than crop seed.
4. Eccentrics do the shaking motions of the screens.
5. The two shoes in 4 screen cleaner move in opposite
direction to balance each other also to reduce machine
vibrations to minimum.
First screen does scalping
Second screen does grading
Third screen does close scalping
Fourth screen does close grading
UPGRADING MACHINES
SPECIFIC GRAVITY SEPERATOR
ELECTRICAL COLOUR SORTER
SPIRAL SEPERATOR