PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MUSTARD SEEDS AND HOW THEY ARE INFLUENCED BY PACKAGING

Abstract

I  paid  attention  to  how  mustard  seeds  interact  with  storage  container  for  a  period  of  6 months.  I  examined  some  of  the  physical  properties  of  these  seeds such  as:  length  L (mm),  width  W (mm), thickness T (mm), geometric mean diameter Dg (mm), sphericity Φ (%), porosity ε (%), volume V (mm³), mass m (g), bulk density ρ b  (g/cm³), true density ρ tr  (g/cm³) before and after storage for six months at normal temperature and pressure. The samples were: sample 1 mustard seeds in a plastic bag and sample 2 mustard seeds in a plastic box with a top. The physical dimensions of the samples measured  in  three  mutually  perpendicular  directions  before  storage  had  values  between:  for  T minimum  –  1.90  mm,  maximum  2.61  mm,  for  W  –  minimum  1.87  mm,  maximum  2.44  mm,  for  L  – minimum  1.82  mm,  maximum  2.58  mm.  After  the  six  months  of  storage  at  normal  temperature  and pressure  in  various  packages, the  physical  dimensions  of  the  mustard  seeds  varied  the  least  for the seeds in sample 1.