ARS | Publication request: VARIABILITY OF PEANUT KERNEL MOISTURE CONTENTS BETWEEN HARVEST AND 6 MONTHSSTORAGE IN WEST TEXAS

Submitted to: American Peanut Research and Education Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 16, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Moisture control is a major factor for quality preservation of farmer stock peanuts during harvest and subsequent storage. Quality loss can be attributed to high peanut moisture contents during storage. Limited data have been published relative to the variability of moisture contents within moisture samples. Peanuts were dug and placed in inverted windrows for drying. After combining, 82 samples were extracted randomly from approximately 1 t of peanuts for single kernel moisture evaluation before and after storage. Forty-one of the samples were shelled and evaluated before storage and 41 of samples were placed at strategic locations in the cross-section of peanuts in a farmer stock warehouse during filling. After 6 mo storage, the samples were recovered and single kernel moistures were conducted. Single kernel moistures varied from 6 to 34.1 % prior to storage with average moisture of the samples varying between 8.5 % and 10.2 % After storage, single kernel moistures varied from 2.4 % to 13. 1% with average moisture ranging between 4.3 % and 11.4 %. These data indicate that perhaps control of peanut moisture content by average moisture should be reexamined because of the potential for quality loss from high moisture kernels throughout farmer stock storage.