Safe Storage Of Sunflower Seed
Published: 23 Apr 2015
Safe storage of sunflower seed — aeration drying and cooling
Sunflower growers can use aeration drying and cooling to successfully manage a range of seed moisture contents (MC) and temperatures during harvest and storage.
Key points
- Aeration drying and cooling enables safe storage of sunflower seed across a broad range of moisture contents and ambient temperatures.
- Optimal sunflower seed storage occurs below 9 per cent MC at 40 per cent oil content. For higher
- oil contents (≥50 per cent), store sunflower seed at 7.5 per cent MC.
- Moisture content can be lowered two to three per cent in less than a week with aeration drying.
- Reliable aeration drying requires fan airflow rates in excess of 15 litres per second per tonne (L/s/t), while aeration cooling requires airflow rates of between 2 to 4 L/s/t.
- Aeration cooling fans can reduce seed temperatures in storage by more than 10°C in two to three days.
- Sunflower oil quality can be maintained with well-managed aeration drying and cooling systems.
Want to link to this publication?
Use www.grdc.com.au/GRDC-FS-SunflowerSeedStorage to ensure your link remains current and up-to-date!
GRDC Project Code PAL00019
Region North
Region: North
Was this page helpful?
YOUR FEEDBACK
To protect your privacy, please do not include contact information in your feedback. If you would like
a response, please contact us.