PROPRIEDADES FÍSICAS DOS GRÃOS DE FEIJÃO SUBMETIDOS À DIFERENTES MÉTODOS DE SECAGEM

Abstract

Common bean is a crop of great economic and social importance, being the main source of vegetable protein for Brazilians. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the behavior of the physical properties of beans from the cultivar BRS Estilo subjected to different alternative drying methods. The design used was completely randomized with four drying methods, consisting of drying methods (forced ventilation oven drying at 37°C, experimental fixed layer dryer, sun drying, and shade drying), with four repetitions. The physical properties evaluated after drying were: thousand grain weight, bulk density, unit density, porosity, electrical conductivity, orthogonal axes, and volumetric shrinkage. Drying in the experimental dryer provided the final moisture content in the drying process in a shorter time, and showed higher values for unit density, porosity, and volumetric shrinkage of the grains. Drying in the oven showed higher values for bulk density. Natural drying methods, using sun and shade, obtained higher thousand grain weight and lower electrical conductivity values. Therefore, it is concluded that the drying method using the experimental dryer promoted reduction of moisture to safe levels for storage.