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Evaluation of some engineering properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds and kernels based on image processing
Accepted Manuscript Evaluation of Some engineering properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds and kernels based on image processing Amir Hossein Mirzabe, Masoud Barati kakolaki, Behnam Abouali, Rasoul Sadin PII: DOI: Reference:
S2214-3173(16)30075-0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2017.07.001 INPA 93
To appear in:
Information Processing in Agriculture
Received Date: Revised Date: Accepted Date:
29 July 2016 4 July 2017 5 July 2017
Please cite this article as: A. Hossein Mirzabe, M. Barati kakolaki, B. Abouali, R. Sadin, Evaluation of Some engineering properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds and kernels based on image processing, Information Processing in Agriculture (2017), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2017.07.001
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Evaluation of Some engineering properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds and kernels based on image processing Amir Hossein Mirzabe1*, Masoud Barati kakolaki2, Behnam Abouali1 ,Rasoul Sadin1 (1. Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran; 2. Department of Biosystems, Bajgah College, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran) *Corresponding author: Masoud Barati, Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Bajgah College, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, Email: [email protected]
Amir Hossein Mirzabe Master Science of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 098 939 944 2161, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected] Maseud Barati kakolaki Master Science of Biosystem, Bajgah College, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 09371105668, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected] Behnam Abouali Master Science of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 098 939 085 4706, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected] Rasoul Sadin Master Science of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 098 936 410 1064, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: In this study, a method based on digital image processing was employed to investigate effect of the moisture content on gravimetrical and frictional properties of the cucumber seeds and kernels. This research indicated that the application of visual machines and the image processing could be a rapid method that enables accurate measurement of the dimensional parameters of two varieties of this product meticulously. The length, width, and thickness of the seeds of Rashid variety ranged from 6.40 to 9.07, 2.91 to 4.21 and 0.65 to1.50 mm, respectively; the corresponding value of Negin variety ranged from 6.89 to 9.07, 2.49 to 4.21, and 0.69 to 1.68 mm, respectively. Kernel and shell ratios of the Rashid variety were found to be 69.811 and 30.189%, respectively; the corresponding values of the Negin variety were found to be 72.727 and 27.273%, respectively. Despite the bulk densities of the two varieties of cucumber seeds and kernels that decreased with the moisture content, true density and porosity of the two varieties of cucumber seeds and kernels increased. As the moisture content increased from 5.04 to 21.12% (d.b), the angle of the static friction of the seeds of Negin variety increased from 30.39° to 37.18°, 28.83° to 34.99°, 24.37° to 30.04°, and 15.77° to 19.57° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized, respectively,; the corresponding value of the Negin variety increased from 21.12° to 27.16°, 24.43° to 31.41°, 19.90° to 25.59° and 14.09° to 18.12° as the moisture content increased from 5.02 to 21.02% (d.b). Keywords: Image processing; physical and mechanical properties; cucumber
1) Introduction Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important vegetable crop worldwide [58]. It’s a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family of Cucurbitaceae [10, 11, 56]. The fruit of the cucumber is roughly cylindrical, elongated, and may be as large as 60 cm long and 10 cm in diameter [60]. Having an enclosed seed and developing from a flower [54]. Cucumber seeds possess properties similar to those of the allied Pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo L.), which are distinctly diuretic, but mainly employed as a very efficient acid and can be used as an emetic substance [35, 55]. Internal seeds of cucumber are rich in auxin and there is a strong and positive relationship between seeds and weight increase. It should be noted that this correlation between seeds and fruit weight is not common in all types of fruits, for instance, in pomegranate there is not this correlation [41]. The copper content of cucumber seeds helps in stimulating the process of neurotransmission which in turn improves the overall brain coordination. Cucumber seeds help in preventing a number of digestive problems like acidity, ulcers, gastritis, indigestion [43]. Physical, mechanical and chemical properties of agriculturally, nutritionally and industrially valued seed materials are important in designing the equipment for harvest, transport, storage, processing, cleaning, hulling and milling [7, 11, 55]. The bulk and true densities represent the measures of weight of seeds or kernels per unit volume, while the angle of repose play a chief role in designing the equipment for solid flow and storage. Knowledge on the frictional properties is valuable in designing the machines effective in packaging. Physical and mechanical properties of seeds of a variety of legumes like chickpea, cowpea, and faba beans have been studied [44, 25, 3]. Nowadays, image analysis methods are most commonly used to make such measurements. Computer vision is one of such non-destructive methods that involve image analyses and image processing operations in agricultural and food industries such as automatic
classification of cotton diseases based on the feature extraction of foliar symptoms from digital images, [29, 9]. A review on the Current segmentation algorithms used for medical images showed that manual segmentation is very time-consuming and the results may not be reproducible or suffer from intra-observer and inter-observer variability. Compared with the algorithms for common image processing, the ones used for medical images require more concrete application background [62]. Concurrently, the computer-assisted medical diagnosis of skin cancer has undergone major advances. In order to improve the efficiency of the image segmentation of skin lesions, image acquisition was taken into account [50, 19]. Image analysis was used to determine the size
parameters of two varieties of cucumber seeds and kernel. Admittedly, measurement of size parameters and the biggest size of each dimension of seeds by caliper or micrometer is much more time consuming and with less precision than image processing technique. More important is that since the seeds are vulnerable, it is a necessity to use a solution based on Image processing which is non-destructive solution that meets our requirements [18, 26, 31]. Numerous studies have recently been published on the possibility of using the computer vision in the estimation of grain quality and classification of products [36, 45, 14, 49]. On the one hand, there are many published literature about cucumber fruits, seeds, and kernels in genetics, oil extraction, chemical properties, plant diseases, and other scientific fields [13, 57, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67] ; on the other hand, there is no published literature about the physical and mechanical properties of the cucumber seeds and kernels. Therefore, the present study aims at determination of physical and mechanical properties of seeds and kernels of cucumber using a solution based on image processing in order to determine the biggest size of each dimension of the cucumber seeds and kernels. Three principal dimensions, geometric and arithmetic mean diameters, sphericity, volume, surface and projected areas, flakiness and elongation ratio, unit mass, and 1000-unit mass of cucumber seed and kernel were measured in four levels of moisture contents. The effect of the moisture content on bulk and true densities, porosity, static coefficient of friction on various surfaces, pouring, empting, filling and Hele-Shaw angle of repose of two varieties of cucumber seed and kernel were investigated.
2) Materials and methods 2.1. Sample preparation Two varieties of cucumbers, namely Negin and Rashid, were used in the present work. extracted
The cucumber seeds
were immediately transported to laboratory and stored at 5 oC prior to the experiment. Two kilograms of dried and cleaned cucumber seeds were divided into four portions labeled A, B, C, and D. Sample A was left at the market storage moisture content, while a different distilled water was added to B, C and D parts at room temperature in order to raise their moisture content to the desired four different levels, based on the following Equation [20]: M water
Wi ( M f M i ) 100 M f
(1)
Where Mwater is the mass of water added, kg; Wi the initial mass of the sample, kg; Mi the initial moisture content of the sample, % dry bases (d.b); and Mf is the final moisture content of the sample, % (d.b). The sample was packed in sealed polyethylene bags and kept in a refrigerator for 72 hours to enable the moisture to be distributed uniformly throughout the samples. The moisture content of each sample based on dry bases (d.b) was determined using Equation (2) and the standard hot air oven method at 105±1oC for 24 h [2, 22, 46].
M
Mw Md 100 Md
(2)
Where M is the moisture content of the sample, % (d.b); Mw the initial mass of the sample or wet mass, g; Mi the initial moisture content of the sample, % (d.b), and Md the final mass of the sample or dry mass, % (d.b). The average values of the three repetitions were reported as the moisture content for each sample. The samples with different moisture contents were stored in refrigerator in order to be tested. 2.2. Dimensional properties 2.2.1. Calculating parameters
The three major perpendicular dimensions of each cucumber seed were measured by using the image processing technique. The geometric mean diameter (DG), arithmetic mean diameter, DA, equivalent diameter (DE), sphericity ( ),surface area of the seed (S), volume (V), projected area (AP), flakiness ratio (Fr), and elongation ratio (Er) of celery seed were calculated using the mentioned equations in Table 1 [6, 16, 20, 23, 24, 27, 37, 38, 40, 47, 55, 63].
Table 1 - The list of physical properties equations
2.2.2. Image processing set up
The image processing system consisted of a camera (Canon, IXY 600F, Japan) with 3X IS lens capable of filming up to 120 frames per second (fps) and 12.1 megapixels, four white-colored fluorescent lamps (32 W), USB connection, and a laptop computer (DELL, INSPIRON 1558, China) equipped with MATLAB R2012a software package. Image processing routines were written in MATLAB 2012a for the area of interested (AOI). The camera was mounted on an image processing box [33, 34 ]. Each cucumber seed was put at the center of the camera’s field of view and three metal spheres with the same and identified diameters were put at the side of the cucumber seed. In the first step processing, one RGB color images were captured from up view of the cucumber seeds or kernels. Then RGB color space images of calluses were converted into eight-bit grey-scale level. In the second step of processing, the threshold technique was performed to isolate each object from its background. Eight-bit gray-scale intensity represents
256 different shades of gray from black (0) to white (255). The eight-bit gray-scale images were digitized to binary image by using binary transformation on the basis of all the pixels with a brightness level equal to the average of the brightness levels of the three channels [34, 59]. In the third step, the threshold value of the cucumber seed was determined experimentally. The holes and noise of binary images are filling by morphological closing and opening. From the grayscale image of Negin variety, pixel values less than 141 for seeds and 173 for kernels were converted to 0 (black), and the values higher than 141 for seeds and 173 for kernels were converted to 255 or white. The threshold levels of the seeds and kernels of Rashid variety grayscale image were chosen as 133 and 170, respectively. The threshold levels were determined experimentally. The pixels with value of 255 showed the cucumber seeds or kernels, and the pixels with value of 0 showed the remainder [32, 34, 15] Examples of the original, gray-scale, binary and boundary images of a cucumber seed or kernel and different steps of image processing are shown in Fig. 1. The number of pixels representing the length (L), width (W) and thickness (T) of the cucumber seeds and kernels was also measured on the captured images using MATLAB R2012a software package. Fig. 1 Different steps of image processing and images of a cucumber seed (on the left side) and kernel (on the right side), Original RGB color image, gray-scale image, binary image and outline image
2.3, Gravimetric properties 2.3.1 Mass and 1000-seed mass
To determine the mass of 1000 cucumber seeds, kernels, and shells, the weight of 50 seeds, kernels and shells were measured by a digital balance (KERN, PLS 360-3, Germany) with an accuracy of 0.001 g. Then, these weights of 50 seeds, kernels and shells were multiplied by 20. 2.3.2. Bulk density
The bulk material was obtained by containers with known volume (500 cm3). In different moisture content levels, the cucumber seeds and kernels were poured into the container at a height of 150 mm [22]. The bulk density (ρb) is equal to the mass of the bulk material divided by volume containing the mass. 2.3.3. True density
True density (ρt) is defined as the mass of the sample (Ms) divided by the volume of the sample (Vs). It was determined using the water displacement method. Toluene (C7H8) was used in place of water because it is absorbed by the seeds to a lesser extent [20, 38]. The volume of the individual sample was determined by weighing displacement volume of toluene:
Vs
M TD
t
( M T M P ) ( M PTS M PS )
t
(3)
s
Ms Vs
(4)
where MTD is the mass of displacement volume of toluene in kg, ρt the density of toluene (870 kg m-3), MT the mass of pycnometer filled with toluene in kg, MP the mass of pycnometer, kg, MPTS the mass of pycnometer with toluene and seeds or kernels in kg, and MPS is the mass of pycnometer and seeds or kernels in kg. 2.3.4. Porosity
Porosity is defined as the ratio of the volume of pores to the total volume. The porosity of bulk cucumber seeds and kernels were calculated from bulk and true densities using the follow Equation [53]:
1 b 100 t
(5)
Where Ɛ is porosity in percentage, ρb is bulk density and ρt true density. 2.4. Frictional properties 2.4.1. Angle of static friction
The coefficients of external static friction of the two varieties of cucumber seeds were determined using sloped plane method on surfaces of galvanized plate, iron, wood, and rubber. A topless and bottomless cylinder of 100 mm in diameter and 50 mm in height was filled with the samples. The cylinder was raised slightly so as not to touch the surfaces. The structural surface with the cylinder resting on it was inclined gradually with a screw device until the cylinder just started to slide down over the surface and the angle of tilt at this juncture, was in degree read by Auto Cad 2007 software package. 2.4.2. Angle of repose
When bulk granular materials are poured onto a horizontal surface, a conical pile is formed. The internal angle between the surface of the pile and the horizontal surface is known as the angle of repose [30]. There are different methods to measure the angle of repose, including pouring, filling (charging), empting (discharging), Hele-Shaw, submerging, and rotating drums methods. In the present study, to measure the angle of repose of the cucumber seeds the pouring, filling, empting and Hele-Shaw methods were used. 2.4.2.1, Pouring angle of repose
Static angle of repose was measured using pouring method. The angle of repose of the cucumber seeds sample was determined using a top and bottomless metallic cylinder of 200 mm in height and 150 mm in diameter [39]. The cylinder was placed on horizontal surface and filled with the cucumber seeds. Then, the cylinder was raised very slowly (rotational velocity of electromotor was equal to 1400 rpm and linear velocity of chord was equal to 5 mm/s) (Fig. 2.A). The camera was placed on the opposite of the front view of the bulk seeds and then photographed from them. Thereafter, pouring angle of repose was calculated using image processing technique and Auto Cad 2007 software package. In order to study the effect of the material of the contact surface, wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plates placed on the frame of the set up (beneath of the cylinder), and pouring angle of repose was measured on these surfaces. Fig. 2 - Measuring angle of repose of cucumber seeds. (A) Pouring angle of repose, (B) filling and empting angle of repose, (C) Hele-Shaw angle of repose, experimental set up before seeds falling and (D) Hele-Shaw angle of repose, experimental set up after seeds falling.
2.4.2.2. Filling and emptying angle of repose
The filling or static angle of repose is the angle of surface with the horizontal side at which the seeds will stand when piled on the ground. The emptying or dynamic angle of repose is the angle of surface of residual with the horizontal side in the upper box. The device used in this study consisted of two boxes, upper and down ones, of dimensions of 120 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 60 mm in width (Fig. 2.B). The upper box was filled with the sample seeds. The material of the upper box can flow to down through a removable port. The height of the seeds was measured and the filling angle of repose (FAR) and emptying angle of repose (EAR) were calculated by the following relationships [50]:
H EAR tan 1 XL
(6)
h FAR tan 1 xl
(7)
Where, H and h are the heights in mm, and XL and xl (mm) are horizontal distances. The average values of five repetitions were reported as filling and empting angles of repose of the cucumber seeds. 2.4.2.3. Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose
The Hele-Shaw is the angle of surface with the horizontal side at which the seeds will stand when piled on the bottom of the main box. The device used in this study consisted of a box with dimensions of 300, 200, and 200 mm for length, height and width, respectively (Figs. 2.C and D). At delivery slop of 30o, the small box was filled with the sample seeds. The material of the upper main box can flow to down through a removable port. The camera was placed on the opposite of the front view of the box and then photographed from the bulk seeds (front of the main box was made of the glass). Then, Hele-Shaw’s repose angle was calculated using image processing technique and Auto Cad 2007 software package. In order to study the effect of the material of the contact surface on Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose, wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plates placed into the main box (beneath of the main box).
3. Results and discussion 3.1. Dimensional properties Size and shape are important for separator and sorter and can be used to determine the lower size limits of conveyors. Length, width and thickness of the cucumber seeds and kernels of Rashid variety were measured and dimensional properties of them were also calculated (Table 2). The length, width, and thickness of the seeds ranged from 6.89 to 9.07, 2.49 to 4.21 and 0.69 to 1.68 mm, respectively. Average of the geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, surface area, volume, projected area, flakiness and elongation ratios of the seeds were found to be 3.05, 4.09, 2.06 mm, 39.41%, 47.38 mm2, 15.10 mm3, 20.89 mm2, 0. 32, and 2.28, respectively (Table 2). Table 2 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Rashid variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.02 % (d.b )
Length, width, thickness, and dimensional properties of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety are shown in Table 3. The length, width, and thickness of the seeds ranged from 6.40 to 9.07, 2.91 to 4.21 and 0.65 to1.50 mm, respectively. Average of the geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, surface area, volume, projected area, flakiness ratio and elongation ratio of the seeds were found to be 2.93 mm, 4.10 mm, 2.06 mm, 37.66 %, 48.39 mm2, 13.43 mm3, 22.00 mm2, 0. 26, and 2.18, respectively (Table 3).
Table 3 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Negin variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.04 % (d.b)
The comparison between dimensions of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the lengths of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were more than the corresponding values of Rashid variety, but the thicknesses of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were lower than the corresponding values of Rashid variety. 3.2. Gravimetrical properties 3.2.1. Mass
Statistical analysis for the mass of Negin and Rashid variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, and kernel and shell ratios was carried out when the moisture content was equal to 5.04 and 5.02% (d.b), respectively. Average mass of the Negin seeds, kernels and shells were equal to 0.042, 0.031 and 0.011g, respectively (Table 4). Kernel and shell ratios of the Negin variety were found to be 72.727 and 27.273%, respectively. Standard deviation of seed mass, kernel mass, shell mass, kernel ratio and shell ratio were equal to 0.006g, 0.005g, 0.002g, 4.289%, and 4.289%, respectively.
Table 4 - Statistical analysis for mass of Negin variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio.
Average mass of the Rashid seeds, kernels and shells were equal to 0.052, 0.037 and 0.016g, respectively (Table 5). Kernel and shell ratios of the Rashid variety were found to be 69.811 and 30.189%, respectively. Standard deviation of seed mass, kernel mass, shell mass, kernel ratio and shell ratio were equal to 0.007g, 0.005g, 0.004g, 5.391%, and 5.391%, respectively.
Table 5 - Statistical analysis for mass of Rashid variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio.
The obtained results indicated that the mean value of the seeds, kernels, and shells mass for Rashid variety were more than the ones for Negin variety. The kernel ratio of Negin variety was more than the ones for Rashid variety. Shell ratio of Negin variety was less than Rashid variety because kernel ratio of Negin variety was more than that of Rashid variety. The 1000-unit mass of the cucumber seeds and kernels were measured at different moisture levels. Fig. 3 indicates
that the 1000-unit mass of the seed and kernel increases linearly with the increase in the seed moisture content. 1000 seed’s mass of the Negin variety varied from 41.331 to 44.111 g when the moisture content increased from 5.04 to 21.12 % (d.b); the corresponding values for the Rashid variety were varied from52.053 to 56.732 g when the moisture content increased from 5.02 to 21.02 % (d.b).There is much published literature on the moisture dependency of the 1000-unit mass; results indicated that in most cases, with increasing moisture content, 1000-unit mass increased too [46, 51].
Fig. 3 - Variations of 1000 seeds mass of two varieties of cucumber seed with moisture content
3.2.2. Bulk density
Effects of the moisture content on the bulk density of the cucumber seed of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Fig. 4. The bulk density of the two varieties of the cucumber seed decreased with the moisture content (Fig. 4). The reason of this can be explained as follows: while the cucumber seeds absorb moisture, their individual volume and mass increases; consequently, their shapes, and bulk volumes change. This behavior causes the number of the cucumber seeds to occupy a fixed volume to increase, but the mass of the cucumber seeds get decreased. The negative and positive relationships between the bulk density and the moisture content is also observed by other researchers [1, 21, 29, 48, 52].
Fig. 4 - Variations of the bulk density of the two varieties of cucumber seed with moisture content
The effects of the moisture content on the bulk density of the cucumber kernel of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Fig. 5. The bulk density of the two varieties of the cucumber kernel decreased linearly with the moisture content. The comparison between the bulk densities of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the bulk density of the seeds of Negin variety was lower than the corresponding values of Rashid variety; however, the bulk density of kernels of Negin variety was more than the corresponding values of Rashid variety.
Fig. 5 - Variations of bulk density two varieties of cucumber kernel with moisture content
3.2.3. True density
The true density of the cucumber seed was measured at different moisture levels and the results are shown in Fig. 6. The true density of seeds of Negin variety increased from 1142.591 to 1238.482 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b). The true density of Rashid variety increased from 1146.864 to 1205. 044 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). This shows that the cucumber seeds are heavier than water and will not float in. This characteristic can be used to separate the seeds from other lighter foreign materials.
Fig. 6 - Variations of true density two varieties of cucumber seeds with moisture content
The effects of the moisture content on the true density of the cucumber kernel of the Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Fig. 7. The true density of the two varieties of the cucumber kernel increased exponentially with the moisture content. The comparison between the true density of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the true density of the seeds of Rashid variety was lower than the corresponding values of Negin variety; but the true density of the kernels of Rashid variety was more than the corresponding values of Negin variety.
Fig. 7 - Variations of the true density of the two varieties of the cucumber kernels with moisture content
The observed increase from the true density could be explained due to the fact that the increment of seed weight caused by the seed moisture resulted in more volume expansion experimented by the seeds. There are a lot of literature on moisture dependency of the true density for different agricultural crops; the results indicated that in some cases with the increasing moisture content, the true density increased too [6, 8, 20, 38], but in some cases with the increasing moisture content, the true density decreased [12, 14, 48, 56, 64]. 3.2.4. Porosity
Porosity affects the bulk density which is also a necessary factor in the design of dryer, storage, and conveyer capacity, while the true density is useful to design separation equipment [56]. The porosity of the seeds and kernels was calculated by means of Equation (5), and by using the average values of the bulk and true densities of each batch. The effect of the moisture content in the ranges of 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b) on porosity of seeds and kernels of Negin variety was studied; also the effect of the moisture content in the ranges of 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b) on the porosity of the seeds and kernels of Rashid variety was studied. The porosity of the two varieties of the cucumber seed and kernel increased linearly with the moisture content (Figs. 8 and 9). The comparison between the porosity of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the porosity of the seeds of Varamin variety was more than the corresponding values of Somsori variety; nevertheless, the porosity of the kernels of Varamin variety was lower than the corresponding values of Samsori variety.
Fig. 8 - Variations of porosity of two varieties of cucumber seeds with moisture content
Fig. 9 - Variations of porosity of two varieties of cucumber kernels with moisture content
Aviara et al. [5] for Moringa oleifera seed, Sologubik et al. [56] for barley, Zewdu and Solomon [59] for tef seed, and Sánchez-Mendoza et al. [47] for Roselle seeds stated that as the moisture content increased, the porosity value increased too, but Pradhan et al. [48] for jatropha fruit and Mwithiga and Sifuna [42] for sorghum seeds reported a decreasing trend of the porosity with the moisture content. It must be noted that the porosity of the mass of seeds determines the resistance to airflow during the aeration and drying process. 3.3. Frictional properties 3.3.1. Angle of external friction
The static friction coefficient limits the maximum inclination angle of the conveyor and storage bin. The static angle of friction, which affects the design of the processing machine, was determined on four different contacting materials (wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plate). These are common materials used for transportation, storage and handling operations of grains, pulses, seeds, construction of storage, and drying bins. The results of static angle of friction of Negin variety are shown in Fig. 10; also the respective results regarding the Rashid variety are
shown in Fig. 11. It is observed that the static angle of friction of the seeds of the two varieties increased linearly with the increase in the moisture content for all contact surfaces. The angle of static friction of the seeds of Negin variety increased from 30.39° to 37.18°, 28.83° to 34.99°, 24.37° to 30.04°, and 15.77° to 19.57° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plate, respectively, as the moisture content increases from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b).
Fig. 10 - Variation of angle of friction of Negin variety of cucumber seeds with moisture content
The angle of static friction of the seeds of Rashid variety increased from 21.12° to 27.16°, 24.43° to 31.41°, 19.90° to 25.59°, and 14.09° to 18.12° for wood, robber, iron, and galvanized plate, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). The reason for the increase of friction coefficient at higher moisture content may be owing to the water present in the seed offering an adhesive force on the surface of contact [48].
Fig. 11 - Variation of angle of friction of Rashid variety of cucumber seeds with moisture content
For Negin variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum frictions are offered by wood, followed by the rubber, iron, and galvanized surfaces; while for Rashid variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum frictions are offered by rubber, followed by the wood, iron, and galvanized surfaces. The least static angle of friction may be owing to the smoother and more polished surface of the galvanized sheet than the other materials used. Likewise, wood offered the maximum friction for tef seed [64], jatrofa fruit [48] and almond [36] but the galvanized surface had higher coefficient of friction than plywood for Roselle [52] and lentil seeds [4]. It must be noted that the static angle of external friction is important for designing
the storage bins,
hoppers, pneumatic conveying system, screw conveyors, forage harvesters, threshers, etc. [53]. 3.3.2. Pouring angle of repose
Angle of repose is a useful parameter for the calculation of the belt conveyor width and also designing the storage shape [50]. The angle of repose is an indicator of the product flow ability. The results for the pouring angle of repose of Negin and Rashid varieties, with respect to the moisture content, are shown in Figs. 12 and 13, respectively. Pouring angle of repose of the
cucumber seeds was determined on four different contacting materials (wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized surface). It is observed that the static pouring angle of repose of the seeds increased linearly with the increase in the moisture content for all contact surfaces.
Fig. 12 - Variation of pouring angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Negin variety with moisture content Fig. 13 - Variation of pouring angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Rashid variety with moisture content
The pouring angle of repose of the Negin variety increased from 45.54° to 54.67°, 44.34° to 52.63°, 43.42° to 48.88° and 40.62° to 45.71° for wood, rubber, iron and galvanized, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b). It was while the pouring angle of repose of the Rashid variety increased from 42.88° to 48.79°, 45.16° to 51.49°, 40.19° to 45.71°, and 37.68° to 42.94° for wood, rubber, iron and galvanized sheet, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). For Negin variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum pouring angle of repose are offered by wood, followed by the rubber, iron and galvanized surfaces, while for Rashid variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum frictions are offered by rubber, followed by the wood, iron, and galvanized surfaces. The least static pouring angle of repose may be owing to the smoother and more polished surface of the galvanized sheet than the other materials used. 3.3.3. Filling and empting angle of repose
The effects of the moisture content on filling and empting angles of repose of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Figs. 14 and 15, respectively. The values of filling and empting angle of repose of Negin variety were found to increase from 32.54° to 41.12° and 36.29° to 47.74° in the moisture range of 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b); the corresponding values for the Rashid variety were found to be from 29.33° to 40.83° and 34.62° to 45.21°, respectively, in the moisture range of 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b).
Fig. 14 - Variation of filling and empting angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Negin variety with moisture content
Fig. 15 - Variation of filling and empting angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Rashid variety with moisture content
For the two varieties of cucumber seed, the angle of repose obtained from the emptying method was greater than that of the filling one. The angle of repose obtained from emptying method was greater than that of filling method for wild pistachio [17], but reverse results were shown for jatropha [28, 50]. 3.3.4. Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose
The effects of the moisture content on Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Figs. 16 and 17. It is observed that the Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose of the radish seeds increased with the increase in the moisture content in all surfaces. The maximum and minimum Hele-Shaw’s angles of repose are offered by rubber and galvanized surfaces, respectively. The least angle of repose may be owing to the smoother and more polished surface of the galvanized sheet than the other materials used. Fig. 16 - Variation of Hele-Shaw angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Negin variety with moisture content Fig. 17 - Variation of Hele-Shaw angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Rashid variety with moisture content
4. Conclusions Three principal dimensions, geometric and arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, volume, surface area, projected area, and flakiness and elongation ratios of the two varieties of the cucumber seeds were measured using a solution based on image processing in one level of the moisture content. The comparison between dimensions of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the lengths of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were more than the corresponding values of Rashid variety, but the thicknesses of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were lower than the corresponding values of Rashid variety.
In
different levels of the moisture content, mass of single seed, thousand seed mass, bulk, true densities and also porosities of the varieties were measured. 1000 seeds mass of the Negin variety varied from 41.331 to 44.111 g when the moisture content increased from 5.04 to 21.12 % (d.b); the corresponding values for the Rashid variety were equal to 52.053 to 56.732 g when
the moisture content increased from 5.02 to 21.02 % (d.b). The true density of the seeds of Negin variety increased from 1142.591 to 1238.482 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b), and also the true density of Rashid variety increased from 1146.864 to 1205. 044 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). For the varieties angles of friction, pouring angle of repose, and Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose on galvanized iron, wood, and rubber surface in different moisture content levels were measured. Also, the effect of the moisture content on the empting and filling angles of repose of the varieties were investigated. The pouring angle of repose of the Negin variety increased from 45.54° to 54.67°, 44.34° to 52.63°, 43.42° to 48.88°, and 40.62° to 45.71° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized surface, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b). The pouring angle of repose of the Rashid variety increased from 42.88° to 48.79°, 45.16° to 51.49°, 40.19° to 45.71° and 37.68° to 42.94° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized sheet, respectively, as the moisture content increases from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). A comparison between different methods was used to measure the angle of repose of the cucumber seeds, whose results showed that the maximum and minimum values of the repose angles of seeds were obtained by the pouring and Hele-Shaw’s methods.
5 Acknowledgements
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AP
Projected area, mm2
MPST
Mass of pycnometer with toluene and seeds (kernels), kg
DA
Arithmetic mean diameter, mm
MT
Mass of filled pycnometer with toluene, kg
DG
Geometric mean diameter, mm
MTD
Mass of displacement volume of toluene, kg
DE
Equivalent mean diameter, mm
Mw
Initial mass of the sample or dry mass, % (d.b)
EAR
Empting angle of repose, Degree
L
Length of seeds or kernels, mm
Er
Elongation ratio of seeds or kernels
S
Surface area of seeds or kernels, mm2
FAR
Filing angle of repose, Degree
STD
Standard deviation
Fr
Flakiness ratio of seeds or kernels
T
Thickness of seeds or kernels, mm
M
Moisture content of the sample, % (d.b)
V
Volume of seeds or kernels, mm3
Md
Final mass of the sample or dry mass, % (d.b)
W
Width of seeds or kernels, mm
Mf
Final moisture content of the sample, % (d.b)
ε
Porosity, %
Mi
Initial moisture content of the sample, % (d.b)
ρb
Bulk density, kgm-3
MP
Mass of pycnometer, kg
ρt
True density, kg m-3
MPS
Mass of pycnometer and seeds (kernels), kg
Sphericity, %
Table 1 - The list of physical properties equations Formula
DG 3 LWT
DA
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
L W T 3
3 LWT L
Reference [17, 21]
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[17, 35]
3 L
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[21, 35]
100
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[6, 20, 50]
T W 2 DE 4
Description
1
1
LW P LT P WT P P S 4 3
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[14, 34, 63]
DG : Geometric mean diameter, mm
[44]
WL AP 4
W: width, T: thickness, mm
[24]
Fr
T W
W: width, T: thickness, mm
[37]
Er
L W
L: length, W: width, mm
[37]
P 1.6075
V
DG 3 6
Table 2 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Rashid variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.02 % (d.b)
Seed
Kernel
Parameter Max
Min
Mean ± STD
Max
Min
Mean ± STD
L, mm
9.07
6.89
7.74 ± 0.48
8.27
6.04
7.08 ± 0.44
W, mm
4.21
2.49
3.43 ± 0.32
4.11
2.39
3.31 ± 0.32
T, mm
1.68
0.69
1.09 ± 0.24
1.54
0.60
1.00 ± 0.23
DG, mm
3.56
2.47
3.05 ± 0.25
3.32
2.30
2.84 ± 0.23
DA, mm
4.53
3.55
4.09 ± 0.23
4.20
3.29
3.80 ± 0.21
DE, mm
2.23
1.86
2.06 ± 0.08
2.13
1.78
1.97 ± 0.07
47.02
34.68
39.41 ± 3.00
49.26
33.83
40.18 ± 3.25
S, mm2
59.92
34.40
47.38 ± 5.41
52.31
29.83
41.60 ± 4.80
V, mm3
23.61
7.90
15.10 ± 3.59
19.12
6.38
12.22 ± 2.88
AP, mm2
26.15
13.74
20.89 ± 2.64
23.30
12.05
18.46 ± 2.40
Fr
0.52
0.18
0.32 ± 0.09
0.49
0.17
0.31 ± 0.08
Er
2.82
1.83
2.28 ± 0.22
2.68
1.73
2.15 ± 0.21
,%
Table 3 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Negin variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.04 % (d.b)
Seed
Kernel
Parameter Max
Min
Mean ± STD
Max
Min
Mean ± STD
L, mm
9.07
6.40
7.79 ± 0.49
7.93
5.91
7.14 ± 0.43
W, mm
4.21
2.91
3.59 ± 0.28
4.11
2.62
3.48 ± 0.30
T, mm
1.50
0.65
0.92 ± 0.20
1.44
0.60
0.86 ± 0.21
DG, mm
3.45
2.42
2.93 ± 0.22
3.32
2.28
2.75 ± 0.22
DA, mm
4.48
3.47
4.10 ± 0.22
4.20
3.26
3.82 ± 0.21
DE, mm
2.18
1.86
2.06 ± 0.07
2.13
1.79
1.98 ± 0.07
45.97
33.44
37.66 ± 2.44
46.99
33.83
38.56 ± 2.78
S, mm2
57.34
36.12
48.39 ± 5.02
2.31
32.18
42.80 ± 4.71
V, mm3
21.54
7.46
13.43 ± 3.05
19.12
6.21
11.09 ± 2.72
AP, mm2
26.49
16.85
22.00 ± 2.41
23.84
13.16
19.51 ± 2.33
Fr
0.48
0.18
0.26 ± 0.07
0.46
0.17
0.25 ± 0.07
Er
2.76
1.82
2.18 ± 0.20
2.57
1.72
2.07 ± 0.19
,%
Table 4 - Statistical analysis for mass of Negin variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio. Seed mass
Kernel mass
Shell mass
Kernel ratio
Shell ratio
(g)
(g)
(g)
(%)
(%)
Maximum
0.061
0.044
0.017
79.070
39.474
Minimum
0.029
0.022
0.007
60.526
20.930
Mean
0.042
0.031
0.011
72.727
27.273
Statistical indices
Standard deviation
0.006
0.005
0.002
4.289
4.289
Skewness
0.769
0.582
0.160
-0.659
0.659
Kurtosis
1.317
0.273
-0.475
0.501
0.501
Table 5 - Statistical analysis for mass of Rashid variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio. Seed mass
Kernel mass
Shell mass
Kernel ratio
Shell ratio
(g)
(g)
(g)
(%)
(%)
Maximum
0.066
0.045
0.023
81.579
44.898
Minimum
0.038
0.024
0.007
55.102
18.421
Mean
0.052
0.037
0.016
69.811
30.189
Standard deviation
0.007
0.005
0.004
5.391
5.391
Skewness
-0.015
-0.234
0.002
-0.506
0.506
Kurtosis
-0.624
-0.616
-0.368
0.887
0.887
Statistical indices
\
S2214-3173(16)30075-0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2017.07.001 INPA 93
To appear in:
Information Processing in Agriculture
Received Date: Revised Date: Accepted Date:
29 July 2016 4 July 2017 5 July 2017
Please cite this article as: A. Hossein Mirzabe, M. Barati kakolaki, B. Abouali, R. Sadin, Evaluation of Some engineering properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds and kernels based on image processing, Information Processing in Agriculture (2017), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2017.07.001
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Evaluation of Some engineering properties of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds and kernels based on image processing Amir Hossein Mirzabe1*, Masoud Barati kakolaki2, Behnam Abouali1 ,Rasoul Sadin1 (1. Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran; 2. Department of Biosystems, Bajgah College, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran) *Corresponding author: Masoud Barati, Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Bajgah College, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, Email: [email protected]
Amir Hossein Mirzabe Master Science of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 098 939 944 2161, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected] Maseud Barati kakolaki Master Science of Biosystem, Bajgah College, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 09371105668, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected] Behnam Abouali Master Science of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 098 939 085 4706, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected] Rasoul Sadin Master Science of Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Aboureihan College, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Phone: 098 21 360 406 14, Mobile: 098 936 410 1064, Fax: 098 21 360 407 46, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: In this study, a method based on digital image processing was employed to investigate effect of the moisture content on gravimetrical and frictional properties of the cucumber seeds and kernels. This research indicated that the application of visual machines and the image processing could be a rapid method that enables accurate measurement of the dimensional parameters of two varieties of this product meticulously. The length, width, and thickness of the seeds of Rashid variety ranged from 6.40 to 9.07, 2.91 to 4.21 and 0.65 to1.50 mm, respectively; the corresponding value of Negin variety ranged from 6.89 to 9.07, 2.49 to 4.21, and 0.69 to 1.68 mm, respectively. Kernel and shell ratios of the Rashid variety were found to be 69.811 and 30.189%, respectively; the corresponding values of the Negin variety were found to be 72.727 and 27.273%, respectively. Despite the bulk densities of the two varieties of cucumber seeds and kernels that decreased with the moisture content, true density and porosity of the two varieties of cucumber seeds and kernels increased. As the moisture content increased from 5.04 to 21.12% (d.b), the angle of the static friction of the seeds of Negin variety increased from 30.39° to 37.18°, 28.83° to 34.99°, 24.37° to 30.04°, and 15.77° to 19.57° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized, respectively,; the corresponding value of the Negin variety increased from 21.12° to 27.16°, 24.43° to 31.41°, 19.90° to 25.59° and 14.09° to 18.12° as the moisture content increased from 5.02 to 21.02% (d.b). Keywords: Image processing; physical and mechanical properties; cucumber
1) Introduction Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important vegetable crop worldwide [58]. It’s a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family of Cucurbitaceae [10, 11, 56]. The fruit of the cucumber is roughly cylindrical, elongated, and may be as large as 60 cm long and 10 cm in diameter [60]. Having an enclosed seed and developing from a flower [54]. Cucumber seeds possess properties similar to those of the allied Pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo L.), which are distinctly diuretic, but mainly employed as a very efficient acid and can be used as an emetic substance [35, 55]. Internal seeds of cucumber are rich in auxin and there is a strong and positive relationship between seeds and weight increase. It should be noted that this correlation between seeds and fruit weight is not common in all types of fruits, for instance, in pomegranate there is not this correlation [41]. The copper content of cucumber seeds helps in stimulating the process of neurotransmission which in turn improves the overall brain coordination. Cucumber seeds help in preventing a number of digestive problems like acidity, ulcers, gastritis, indigestion [43]. Physical, mechanical and chemical properties of agriculturally, nutritionally and industrially valued seed materials are important in designing the equipment for harvest, transport, storage, processing, cleaning, hulling and milling [7, 11, 55]. The bulk and true densities represent the measures of weight of seeds or kernels per unit volume, while the angle of repose play a chief role in designing the equipment for solid flow and storage. Knowledge on the frictional properties is valuable in designing the machines effective in packaging. Physical and mechanical properties of seeds of a variety of legumes like chickpea, cowpea, and faba beans have been studied [44, 25, 3]. Nowadays, image analysis methods are most commonly used to make such measurements. Computer vision is one of such non-destructive methods that involve image analyses and image processing operations in agricultural and food industries such as automatic
classification of cotton diseases based on the feature extraction of foliar symptoms from digital images, [29, 9]. A review on the Current segmentation algorithms used for medical images showed that manual segmentation is very time-consuming and the results may not be reproducible or suffer from intra-observer and inter-observer variability. Compared with the algorithms for common image processing, the ones used for medical images require more concrete application background [62]. Concurrently, the computer-assisted medical diagnosis of skin cancer has undergone major advances. In order to improve the efficiency of the image segmentation of skin lesions, image acquisition was taken into account [50, 19]. Image analysis was used to determine the size
parameters of two varieties of cucumber seeds and kernel. Admittedly, measurement of size parameters and the biggest size of each dimension of seeds by caliper or micrometer is much more time consuming and with less precision than image processing technique. More important is that since the seeds are vulnerable, it is a necessity to use a solution based on Image processing which is non-destructive solution that meets our requirements [18, 26, 31]. Numerous studies have recently been published on the possibility of using the computer vision in the estimation of grain quality and classification of products [36, 45, 14, 49]. On the one hand, there are many published literature about cucumber fruits, seeds, and kernels in genetics, oil extraction, chemical properties, plant diseases, and other scientific fields [13, 57, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67] ; on the other hand, there is no published literature about the physical and mechanical properties of the cucumber seeds and kernels. Therefore, the present study aims at determination of physical and mechanical properties of seeds and kernels of cucumber using a solution based on image processing in order to determine the biggest size of each dimension of the cucumber seeds and kernels. Three principal dimensions, geometric and arithmetic mean diameters, sphericity, volume, surface and projected areas, flakiness and elongation ratio, unit mass, and 1000-unit mass of cucumber seed and kernel were measured in four levels of moisture contents. The effect of the moisture content on bulk and true densities, porosity, static coefficient of friction on various surfaces, pouring, empting, filling and Hele-Shaw angle of repose of two varieties of cucumber seed and kernel were investigated.
2) Materials and methods 2.1. Sample preparation Two varieties of cucumbers, namely Negin and Rashid, were used in the present work. extracted
The cucumber seeds
were immediately transported to laboratory and stored at 5 oC prior to the experiment. Two kilograms of dried and cleaned cucumber seeds were divided into four portions labeled A, B, C, and D. Sample A was left at the market storage moisture content, while a different distilled water was added to B, C and D parts at room temperature in order to raise their moisture content to the desired four different levels, based on the following Equation [20]: M water
Wi ( M f M i ) 100 M f
(1)
Where Mwater is the mass of water added, kg; Wi the initial mass of the sample, kg; Mi the initial moisture content of the sample, % dry bases (d.b); and Mf is the final moisture content of the sample, % (d.b). The sample was packed in sealed polyethylene bags and kept in a refrigerator for 72 hours to enable the moisture to be distributed uniformly throughout the samples. The moisture content of each sample based on dry bases (d.b) was determined using Equation (2) and the standard hot air oven method at 105±1oC for 24 h [2, 22, 46].
M
Mw Md 100 Md
(2)
Where M is the moisture content of the sample, % (d.b); Mw the initial mass of the sample or wet mass, g; Mi the initial moisture content of the sample, % (d.b), and Md the final mass of the sample or dry mass, % (d.b). The average values of the three repetitions were reported as the moisture content for each sample. The samples with different moisture contents were stored in refrigerator in order to be tested. 2.2. Dimensional properties 2.2.1. Calculating parameters
The three major perpendicular dimensions of each cucumber seed were measured by using the image processing technique. The geometric mean diameter (DG), arithmetic mean diameter, DA, equivalent diameter (DE), sphericity ( ),surface area of the seed (S), volume (V), projected area (AP), flakiness ratio (Fr), and elongation ratio (Er) of celery seed were calculated using the mentioned equations in Table 1 [6, 16, 20, 23, 24, 27, 37, 38, 40, 47, 55, 63].
Table 1 - The list of physical properties equations
2.2.2. Image processing set up
The image processing system consisted of a camera (Canon, IXY 600F, Japan) with 3X IS lens capable of filming up to 120 frames per second (fps) and 12.1 megapixels, four white-colored fluorescent lamps (32 W), USB connection, and a laptop computer (DELL, INSPIRON 1558, China) equipped with MATLAB R2012a software package. Image processing routines were written in MATLAB 2012a for the area of interested (AOI). The camera was mounted on an image processing box [33, 34 ]. Each cucumber seed was put at the center of the camera’s field of view and three metal spheres with the same and identified diameters were put at the side of the cucumber seed. In the first step processing, one RGB color images were captured from up view of the cucumber seeds or kernels. Then RGB color space images of calluses were converted into eight-bit grey-scale level. In the second step of processing, the threshold technique was performed to isolate each object from its background. Eight-bit gray-scale intensity represents
256 different shades of gray from black (0) to white (255). The eight-bit gray-scale images were digitized to binary image by using binary transformation on the basis of all the pixels with a brightness level equal to the average of the brightness levels of the three channels [34, 59]. In the third step, the threshold value of the cucumber seed was determined experimentally. The holes and noise of binary images are filling by morphological closing and opening. From the grayscale image of Negin variety, pixel values less than 141 for seeds and 173 for kernels were converted to 0 (black), and the values higher than 141 for seeds and 173 for kernels were converted to 255 or white. The threshold levels of the seeds and kernels of Rashid variety grayscale image were chosen as 133 and 170, respectively. The threshold levels were determined experimentally. The pixels with value of 255 showed the cucumber seeds or kernels, and the pixels with value of 0 showed the remainder [32, 34, 15] Examples of the original, gray-scale, binary and boundary images of a cucumber seed or kernel and different steps of image processing are shown in Fig. 1. The number of pixels representing the length (L), width (W) and thickness (T) of the cucumber seeds and kernels was also measured on the captured images using MATLAB R2012a software package. Fig. 1 Different steps of image processing and images of a cucumber seed (on the left side) and kernel (on the right side), Original RGB color image, gray-scale image, binary image and outline image
2.3, Gravimetric properties 2.3.1 Mass and 1000-seed mass
To determine the mass of 1000 cucumber seeds, kernels, and shells, the weight of 50 seeds, kernels and shells were measured by a digital balance (KERN, PLS 360-3, Germany) with an accuracy of 0.001 g. Then, these weights of 50 seeds, kernels and shells were multiplied by 20. 2.3.2. Bulk density
The bulk material was obtained by containers with known volume (500 cm3). In different moisture content levels, the cucumber seeds and kernels were poured into the container at a height of 150 mm [22]. The bulk density (ρb) is equal to the mass of the bulk material divided by volume containing the mass. 2.3.3. True density
True density (ρt) is defined as the mass of the sample (Ms) divided by the volume of the sample (Vs). It was determined using the water displacement method. Toluene (C7H8) was used in place of water because it is absorbed by the seeds to a lesser extent [20, 38]. The volume of the individual sample was determined by weighing displacement volume of toluene:
Vs
M TD
t
( M T M P ) ( M PTS M PS )
t
(3)
s
Ms Vs
(4)
where MTD is the mass of displacement volume of toluene in kg, ρt the density of toluene (870 kg m-3), MT the mass of pycnometer filled with toluene in kg, MP the mass of pycnometer, kg, MPTS the mass of pycnometer with toluene and seeds or kernels in kg, and MPS is the mass of pycnometer and seeds or kernels in kg. 2.3.4. Porosity
Porosity is defined as the ratio of the volume of pores to the total volume. The porosity of bulk cucumber seeds and kernels were calculated from bulk and true densities using the follow Equation [53]:
1 b 100 t
(5)
Where Ɛ is porosity in percentage, ρb is bulk density and ρt true density. 2.4. Frictional properties 2.4.1. Angle of static friction
The coefficients of external static friction of the two varieties of cucumber seeds were determined using sloped plane method on surfaces of galvanized plate, iron, wood, and rubber. A topless and bottomless cylinder of 100 mm in diameter and 50 mm in height was filled with the samples. The cylinder was raised slightly so as not to touch the surfaces. The structural surface with the cylinder resting on it was inclined gradually with a screw device until the cylinder just started to slide down over the surface and the angle of tilt at this juncture, was in degree read by Auto Cad 2007 software package. 2.4.2. Angle of repose
When bulk granular materials are poured onto a horizontal surface, a conical pile is formed. The internal angle between the surface of the pile and the horizontal surface is known as the angle of repose [30]. There are different methods to measure the angle of repose, including pouring, filling (charging), empting (discharging), Hele-Shaw, submerging, and rotating drums methods. In the present study, to measure the angle of repose of the cucumber seeds the pouring, filling, empting and Hele-Shaw methods were used. 2.4.2.1, Pouring angle of repose
Static angle of repose was measured using pouring method. The angle of repose of the cucumber seeds sample was determined using a top and bottomless metallic cylinder of 200 mm in height and 150 mm in diameter [39]. The cylinder was placed on horizontal surface and filled with the cucumber seeds. Then, the cylinder was raised very slowly (rotational velocity of electromotor was equal to 1400 rpm and linear velocity of chord was equal to 5 mm/s) (Fig. 2.A). The camera was placed on the opposite of the front view of the bulk seeds and then photographed from them. Thereafter, pouring angle of repose was calculated using image processing technique and Auto Cad 2007 software package. In order to study the effect of the material of the contact surface, wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plates placed on the frame of the set up (beneath of the cylinder), and pouring angle of repose was measured on these surfaces. Fig. 2 - Measuring angle of repose of cucumber seeds. (A) Pouring angle of repose, (B) filling and empting angle of repose, (C) Hele-Shaw angle of repose, experimental set up before seeds falling and (D) Hele-Shaw angle of repose, experimental set up after seeds falling.
2.4.2.2. Filling and emptying angle of repose
The filling or static angle of repose is the angle of surface with the horizontal side at which the seeds will stand when piled on the ground. The emptying or dynamic angle of repose is the angle of surface of residual with the horizontal side in the upper box. The device used in this study consisted of two boxes, upper and down ones, of dimensions of 120 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 60 mm in width (Fig. 2.B). The upper box was filled with the sample seeds. The material of the upper box can flow to down through a removable port. The height of the seeds was measured and the filling angle of repose (FAR) and emptying angle of repose (EAR) were calculated by the following relationships [50]:
H EAR tan 1 XL
(6)
h FAR tan 1 xl
(7)
Where, H and h are the heights in mm, and XL and xl (mm) are horizontal distances. The average values of five repetitions were reported as filling and empting angles of repose of the cucumber seeds. 2.4.2.3. Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose
The Hele-Shaw is the angle of surface with the horizontal side at which the seeds will stand when piled on the bottom of the main box. The device used in this study consisted of a box with dimensions of 300, 200, and 200 mm for length, height and width, respectively (Figs. 2.C and D). At delivery slop of 30o, the small box was filled with the sample seeds. The material of the upper main box can flow to down through a removable port. The camera was placed on the opposite of the front view of the box and then photographed from the bulk seeds (front of the main box was made of the glass). Then, Hele-Shaw’s repose angle was calculated using image processing technique and Auto Cad 2007 software package. In order to study the effect of the material of the contact surface on Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose, wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plates placed into the main box (beneath of the main box).
3. Results and discussion 3.1. Dimensional properties Size and shape are important for separator and sorter and can be used to determine the lower size limits of conveyors. Length, width and thickness of the cucumber seeds and kernels of Rashid variety were measured and dimensional properties of them were also calculated (Table 2). The length, width, and thickness of the seeds ranged from 6.89 to 9.07, 2.49 to 4.21 and 0.69 to 1.68 mm, respectively. Average of the geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, surface area, volume, projected area, flakiness and elongation ratios of the seeds were found to be 3.05, 4.09, 2.06 mm, 39.41%, 47.38 mm2, 15.10 mm3, 20.89 mm2, 0. 32, and 2.28, respectively (Table 2). Table 2 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Rashid variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.02 % (d.b )
Length, width, thickness, and dimensional properties of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety are shown in Table 3. The length, width, and thickness of the seeds ranged from 6.40 to 9.07, 2.91 to 4.21 and 0.65 to1.50 mm, respectively. Average of the geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, surface area, volume, projected area, flakiness ratio and elongation ratio of the seeds were found to be 2.93 mm, 4.10 mm, 2.06 mm, 37.66 %, 48.39 mm2, 13.43 mm3, 22.00 mm2, 0. 26, and 2.18, respectively (Table 3).
Table 3 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Negin variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.04 % (d.b)
The comparison between dimensions of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the lengths of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were more than the corresponding values of Rashid variety, but the thicknesses of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were lower than the corresponding values of Rashid variety. 3.2. Gravimetrical properties 3.2.1. Mass
Statistical analysis for the mass of Negin and Rashid variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, and kernel and shell ratios was carried out when the moisture content was equal to 5.04 and 5.02% (d.b), respectively. Average mass of the Negin seeds, kernels and shells were equal to 0.042, 0.031 and 0.011g, respectively (Table 4). Kernel and shell ratios of the Negin variety were found to be 72.727 and 27.273%, respectively. Standard deviation of seed mass, kernel mass, shell mass, kernel ratio and shell ratio were equal to 0.006g, 0.005g, 0.002g, 4.289%, and 4.289%, respectively.
Table 4 - Statistical analysis for mass of Negin variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio.
Average mass of the Rashid seeds, kernels and shells were equal to 0.052, 0.037 and 0.016g, respectively (Table 5). Kernel and shell ratios of the Rashid variety were found to be 69.811 and 30.189%, respectively. Standard deviation of seed mass, kernel mass, shell mass, kernel ratio and shell ratio were equal to 0.007g, 0.005g, 0.004g, 5.391%, and 5.391%, respectively.
Table 5 - Statistical analysis for mass of Rashid variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio.
The obtained results indicated that the mean value of the seeds, kernels, and shells mass for Rashid variety were more than the ones for Negin variety. The kernel ratio of Negin variety was more than the ones for Rashid variety. Shell ratio of Negin variety was less than Rashid variety because kernel ratio of Negin variety was more than that of Rashid variety. The 1000-unit mass of the cucumber seeds and kernels were measured at different moisture levels. Fig. 3 indicates
that the 1000-unit mass of the seed and kernel increases linearly with the increase in the seed moisture content. 1000 seed’s mass of the Negin variety varied from 41.331 to 44.111 g when the moisture content increased from 5.04 to 21.12 % (d.b); the corresponding values for the Rashid variety were varied from52.053 to 56.732 g when the moisture content increased from 5.02 to 21.02 % (d.b).There is much published literature on the moisture dependency of the 1000-unit mass; results indicated that in most cases, with increasing moisture content, 1000-unit mass increased too [46, 51].
Fig. 3 - Variations of 1000 seeds mass of two varieties of cucumber seed with moisture content
3.2.2. Bulk density
Effects of the moisture content on the bulk density of the cucumber seed of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Fig. 4. The bulk density of the two varieties of the cucumber seed decreased with the moisture content (Fig. 4). The reason of this can be explained as follows: while the cucumber seeds absorb moisture, their individual volume and mass increases; consequently, their shapes, and bulk volumes change. This behavior causes the number of the cucumber seeds to occupy a fixed volume to increase, but the mass of the cucumber seeds get decreased. The negative and positive relationships between the bulk density and the moisture content is also observed by other researchers [1, 21, 29, 48, 52].
Fig. 4 - Variations of the bulk density of the two varieties of cucumber seed with moisture content
The effects of the moisture content on the bulk density of the cucumber kernel of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Fig. 5. The bulk density of the two varieties of the cucumber kernel decreased linearly with the moisture content. The comparison between the bulk densities of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the bulk density of the seeds of Negin variety was lower than the corresponding values of Rashid variety; however, the bulk density of kernels of Negin variety was more than the corresponding values of Rashid variety.
Fig. 5 - Variations of bulk density two varieties of cucumber kernel with moisture content
3.2.3. True density
The true density of the cucumber seed was measured at different moisture levels and the results are shown in Fig. 6. The true density of seeds of Negin variety increased from 1142.591 to 1238.482 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b). The true density of Rashid variety increased from 1146.864 to 1205. 044 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). This shows that the cucumber seeds are heavier than water and will not float in. This characteristic can be used to separate the seeds from other lighter foreign materials.
Fig. 6 - Variations of true density two varieties of cucumber seeds with moisture content
The effects of the moisture content on the true density of the cucumber kernel of the Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Fig. 7. The true density of the two varieties of the cucumber kernel increased exponentially with the moisture content. The comparison between the true density of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the true density of the seeds of Rashid variety was lower than the corresponding values of Negin variety; but the true density of the kernels of Rashid variety was more than the corresponding values of Negin variety.
Fig. 7 - Variations of the true density of the two varieties of the cucumber kernels with moisture content
The observed increase from the true density could be explained due to the fact that the increment of seed weight caused by the seed moisture resulted in more volume expansion experimented by the seeds. There are a lot of literature on moisture dependency of the true density for different agricultural crops; the results indicated that in some cases with the increasing moisture content, the true density increased too [6, 8, 20, 38], but in some cases with the increasing moisture content, the true density decreased [12, 14, 48, 56, 64]. 3.2.4. Porosity
Porosity affects the bulk density which is also a necessary factor in the design of dryer, storage, and conveyer capacity, while the true density is useful to design separation equipment [56]. The porosity of the seeds and kernels was calculated by means of Equation (5), and by using the average values of the bulk and true densities of each batch. The effect of the moisture content in the ranges of 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b) on porosity of seeds and kernels of Negin variety was studied; also the effect of the moisture content in the ranges of 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b) on the porosity of the seeds and kernels of Rashid variety was studied. The porosity of the two varieties of the cucumber seed and kernel increased linearly with the moisture content (Figs. 8 and 9). The comparison between the porosity of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the porosity of the seeds of Varamin variety was more than the corresponding values of Somsori variety; nevertheless, the porosity of the kernels of Varamin variety was lower than the corresponding values of Samsori variety.
Fig. 8 - Variations of porosity of two varieties of cucumber seeds with moisture content
Fig. 9 - Variations of porosity of two varieties of cucumber kernels with moisture content
Aviara et al. [5] for Moringa oleifera seed, Sologubik et al. [56] for barley, Zewdu and Solomon [59] for tef seed, and Sánchez-Mendoza et al. [47] for Roselle seeds stated that as the moisture content increased, the porosity value increased too, but Pradhan et al. [48] for jatropha fruit and Mwithiga and Sifuna [42] for sorghum seeds reported a decreasing trend of the porosity with the moisture content. It must be noted that the porosity of the mass of seeds determines the resistance to airflow during the aeration and drying process. 3.3. Frictional properties 3.3.1. Angle of external friction
The static friction coefficient limits the maximum inclination angle of the conveyor and storage bin. The static angle of friction, which affects the design of the processing machine, was determined on four different contacting materials (wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plate). These are common materials used for transportation, storage and handling operations of grains, pulses, seeds, construction of storage, and drying bins. The results of static angle of friction of Negin variety are shown in Fig. 10; also the respective results regarding the Rashid variety are
shown in Fig. 11. It is observed that the static angle of friction of the seeds of the two varieties increased linearly with the increase in the moisture content for all contact surfaces. The angle of static friction of the seeds of Negin variety increased from 30.39° to 37.18°, 28.83° to 34.99°, 24.37° to 30.04°, and 15.77° to 19.57° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized plate, respectively, as the moisture content increases from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b).
Fig. 10 - Variation of angle of friction of Negin variety of cucumber seeds with moisture content
The angle of static friction of the seeds of Rashid variety increased from 21.12° to 27.16°, 24.43° to 31.41°, 19.90° to 25.59°, and 14.09° to 18.12° for wood, robber, iron, and galvanized plate, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). The reason for the increase of friction coefficient at higher moisture content may be owing to the water present in the seed offering an adhesive force on the surface of contact [48].
Fig. 11 - Variation of angle of friction of Rashid variety of cucumber seeds with moisture content
For Negin variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum frictions are offered by wood, followed by the rubber, iron, and galvanized surfaces; while for Rashid variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum frictions are offered by rubber, followed by the wood, iron, and galvanized surfaces. The least static angle of friction may be owing to the smoother and more polished surface of the galvanized sheet than the other materials used. Likewise, wood offered the maximum friction for tef seed [64], jatrofa fruit [48] and almond [36] but the galvanized surface had higher coefficient of friction than plywood for Roselle [52] and lentil seeds [4]. It must be noted that the static angle of external friction is important for designing
the storage bins,
hoppers, pneumatic conveying system, screw conveyors, forage harvesters, threshers, etc. [53]. 3.3.2. Pouring angle of repose
Angle of repose is a useful parameter for the calculation of the belt conveyor width and also designing the storage shape [50]. The angle of repose is an indicator of the product flow ability. The results for the pouring angle of repose of Negin and Rashid varieties, with respect to the moisture content, are shown in Figs. 12 and 13, respectively. Pouring angle of repose of the
cucumber seeds was determined on four different contacting materials (wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized surface). It is observed that the static pouring angle of repose of the seeds increased linearly with the increase in the moisture content for all contact surfaces.
Fig. 12 - Variation of pouring angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Negin variety with moisture content Fig. 13 - Variation of pouring angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Rashid variety with moisture content
The pouring angle of repose of the Negin variety increased from 45.54° to 54.67°, 44.34° to 52.63°, 43.42° to 48.88° and 40.62° to 45.71° for wood, rubber, iron and galvanized, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b). It was while the pouring angle of repose of the Rashid variety increased from 42.88° to 48.79°, 45.16° to 51.49°, 40.19° to 45.71°, and 37.68° to 42.94° for wood, rubber, iron and galvanized sheet, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). For Negin variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum pouring angle of repose are offered by wood, followed by the rubber, iron and galvanized surfaces, while for Rashid variety, at all moisture contents, the maximum frictions are offered by rubber, followed by the wood, iron, and galvanized surfaces. The least static pouring angle of repose may be owing to the smoother and more polished surface of the galvanized sheet than the other materials used. 3.3.3. Filling and empting angle of repose
The effects of the moisture content on filling and empting angles of repose of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Figs. 14 and 15, respectively. The values of filling and empting angle of repose of Negin variety were found to increase from 32.54° to 41.12° and 36.29° to 47.74° in the moisture range of 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b); the corresponding values for the Rashid variety were found to be from 29.33° to 40.83° and 34.62° to 45.21°, respectively, in the moisture range of 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b).
Fig. 14 - Variation of filling and empting angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Negin variety with moisture content
Fig. 15 - Variation of filling and empting angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Rashid variety with moisture content
For the two varieties of cucumber seed, the angle of repose obtained from the emptying method was greater than that of the filling one. The angle of repose obtained from emptying method was greater than that of filling method for wild pistachio [17], but reverse results were shown for jatropha [28, 50]. 3.3.4. Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose
The effects of the moisture content on Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose of Negin and Rashid varieties are shown in Figs. 16 and 17. It is observed that the Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose of the radish seeds increased with the increase in the moisture content in all surfaces. The maximum and minimum Hele-Shaw’s angles of repose are offered by rubber and galvanized surfaces, respectively. The least angle of repose may be owing to the smoother and more polished surface of the galvanized sheet than the other materials used. Fig. 16 - Variation of Hele-Shaw angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Negin variety with moisture content Fig. 17 - Variation of Hele-Shaw angle of repose of cucumber seeds of Rashid variety with moisture content
4. Conclusions Three principal dimensions, geometric and arithmetic mean diameter, equivalent diameter, sphericity, volume, surface area, projected area, and flakiness and elongation ratios of the two varieties of the cucumber seeds were measured using a solution based on image processing in one level of the moisture content. The comparison between dimensions of the seeds and kernels of the two varieties indicated that the lengths of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were more than the corresponding values of Rashid variety, but the thicknesses of the seeds and kernels of Negin variety were lower than the corresponding values of Rashid variety.
In
different levels of the moisture content, mass of single seed, thousand seed mass, bulk, true densities and also porosities of the varieties were measured. 1000 seeds mass of the Negin variety varied from 41.331 to 44.111 g when the moisture content increased from 5.04 to 21.12 % (d.b); the corresponding values for the Rashid variety were equal to 52.053 to 56.732 g when
the moisture content increased from 5.02 to 21.02 % (d.b). The true density of the seeds of Negin variety increased from 1142.591 to 1238.482 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b), and also the true density of Rashid variety increased from 1146.864 to 1205. 044 kg m-3 when the moisture content increased from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). For the varieties angles of friction, pouring angle of repose, and Hele-Shaw’s angle of repose on galvanized iron, wood, and rubber surface in different moisture content levels were measured. Also, the effect of the moisture content on the empting and filling angles of repose of the varieties were investigated. The pouring angle of repose of the Negin variety increased from 45.54° to 54.67°, 44.34° to 52.63°, 43.42° to 48.88°, and 40.62° to 45.71° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized surface, respectively, as the moisture content increased from 5.04% to 21.12% (d.b). The pouring angle of repose of the Rashid variety increased from 42.88° to 48.79°, 45.16° to 51.49°, 40.19° to 45.71° and 37.68° to 42.94° for wood, rubber, iron, and galvanized sheet, respectively, as the moisture content increases from 5.02% to 21.02% (d.b). A comparison between different methods was used to measure the angle of repose of the cucumber seeds, whose results showed that the maximum and minimum values of the repose angles of seeds were obtained by the pouring and Hele-Shaw’s methods.
5 Acknowledgements
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AP
Projected area, mm2
MPST
Mass of pycnometer with toluene and seeds (kernels), kg
DA
Arithmetic mean diameter, mm
MT
Mass of filled pycnometer with toluene, kg
DG
Geometric mean diameter, mm
MTD
Mass of displacement volume of toluene, kg
DE
Equivalent mean diameter, mm
Mw
Initial mass of the sample or dry mass, % (d.b)
EAR
Empting angle of repose, Degree
L
Length of seeds or kernels, mm
Er
Elongation ratio of seeds or kernels
S
Surface area of seeds or kernels, mm2
FAR
Filing angle of repose, Degree
STD
Standard deviation
Fr
Flakiness ratio of seeds or kernels
T
Thickness of seeds or kernels, mm
M
Moisture content of the sample, % (d.b)
V
Volume of seeds or kernels, mm3
Md
Final mass of the sample or dry mass, % (d.b)
W
Width of seeds or kernels, mm
Mf
Final moisture content of the sample, % (d.b)
ε
Porosity, %
Mi
Initial moisture content of the sample, % (d.b)
ρb
Bulk density, kgm-3
MP
Mass of pycnometer, kg
ρt
True density, kg m-3
MPS
Mass of pycnometer and seeds (kernels), kg
Sphericity, %
Table 1 - The list of physical properties equations Formula
DG 3 LWT
DA
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
L W T 3
3 LWT L
Reference [17, 21]
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[17, 35]
3 L
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[21, 35]
100
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[6, 20, 50]
T W 2 DE 4
Description
1
1
LW P LT P WT P P S 4 3
L: length, W: width, T: thickness, mm
[14, 34, 63]
DG : Geometric mean diameter, mm
[44]
WL AP 4
W: width, T: thickness, mm
[24]
Fr
T W
W: width, T: thickness, mm
[37]
Er
L W
L: length, W: width, mm
[37]
P 1.6075
V
DG 3 6
Table 2 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Rashid variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.02 % (d.b)
Seed
Kernel
Parameter Max
Min
Mean ± STD
Max
Min
Mean ± STD
L, mm
9.07
6.89
7.74 ± 0.48
8.27
6.04
7.08 ± 0.44
W, mm
4.21
2.49
3.43 ± 0.32
4.11
2.39
3.31 ± 0.32
T, mm
1.68
0.69
1.09 ± 0.24
1.54
0.60
1.00 ± 0.23
DG, mm
3.56
2.47
3.05 ± 0.25
3.32
2.30
2.84 ± 0.23
DA, mm
4.53
3.55
4.09 ± 0.23
4.20
3.29
3.80 ± 0.21
DE, mm
2.23
1.86
2.06 ± 0.08
2.13
1.78
1.97 ± 0.07
47.02
34.68
39.41 ± 3.00
49.26
33.83
40.18 ± 3.25
S, mm2
59.92
34.40
47.38 ± 5.41
52.31
29.83
41.60 ± 4.80
V, mm3
23.61
7.90
15.10 ± 3.59
19.12
6.38
12.22 ± 2.88
AP, mm2
26.15
13.74
20.89 ± 2.64
23.30
12.05
18.46 ± 2.40
Fr
0.52
0.18
0.32 ± 0.09
0.49
0.17
0.31 ± 0.08
Er
2.82
1.83
2.28 ± 0.22
2.68
1.73
2.15 ± 0.21
,%
Table 3 - Calculated statistical indices of three principle dimensions and dimensional parameters of seeds and kernels of Negin variety of cucumber when moisture content equals to 5.04 % (d.b)
Seed
Kernel
Parameter Max
Min
Mean ± STD
Max
Min
Mean ± STD
L, mm
9.07
6.40
7.79 ± 0.49
7.93
5.91
7.14 ± 0.43
W, mm
4.21
2.91
3.59 ± 0.28
4.11
2.62
3.48 ± 0.30
T, mm
1.50
0.65
0.92 ± 0.20
1.44
0.60
0.86 ± 0.21
DG, mm
3.45
2.42
2.93 ± 0.22
3.32
2.28
2.75 ± 0.22
DA, mm
4.48
3.47
4.10 ± 0.22
4.20
3.26
3.82 ± 0.21
DE, mm
2.18
1.86
2.06 ± 0.07
2.13
1.79
1.98 ± 0.07
45.97
33.44
37.66 ± 2.44
46.99
33.83
38.56 ± 2.78
S, mm2
57.34
36.12
48.39 ± 5.02
2.31
32.18
42.80 ± 4.71
V, mm3
21.54
7.46
13.43 ± 3.05
19.12
6.21
11.09 ± 2.72
AP, mm2
26.49
16.85
22.00 ± 2.41
23.84
13.16
19.51 ± 2.33
Fr
0.48
0.18
0.26 ± 0.07
0.46
0.17
0.25 ± 0.07
Er
2.76
1.82
2.18 ± 0.20
2.57
1.72
2.07 ± 0.19
,%
Table 4 - Statistical analysis for mass of Negin variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio. Seed mass
Kernel mass
Shell mass
Kernel ratio
Shell ratio
(g)
(g)
(g)
(%)
(%)
Maximum
0.061
0.044
0.017
79.070
39.474
Minimum
0.029
0.022
0.007
60.526
20.930
Mean
0.042
0.031
0.011
72.727
27.273
Statistical indices
Standard deviation
0.006
0.005
0.002
4.289
4.289
Skewness
0.769
0.582
0.160
-0.659
0.659
Kurtosis
1.317
0.273
-0.475
0.501
0.501
Table 5 - Statistical analysis for mass of Rashid variety of cucumber seed, kernel, shell, kernel ratio and shell ratio. Seed mass
Kernel mass
Shell mass
Kernel ratio
Shell ratio
(g)
(g)
(g)
(%)
(%)
Maximum
0.066
0.045
0.023
81.579
44.898
Minimum
0.038
0.024
0.007
55.102
18.421
Mean
0.052
0.037
0.016
69.811
30.189
Standard deviation
0.007
0.005
0.004
5.391
5.391
Skewness
-0.015
-0.234
0.002
-0.506
0.506
Kurtosis
-0.624
-0.616
-0.368
0.887
0.887
Statistical indices
\