By using NIR, the content quality of seeds can be determined. A quantitative analysis can be carried out, measuring parameters such as moisture, fat, protein and carbohydrates such as starch and sugars in seeds. But NIR is also able to perform a qualitative analysis, in which germination, admixture and color of the seed can be determined.
A single seed can also be measured with NIR. Various probes are available for this purpose, which have been specially developed for small objects, including seeds.
NIR is a technique based on the fact that light and heat radiation are absorbed by – in this case, the seeds – allowing predictions to be made about the quality characteristics of seeds that only manifest later. The seed itself is not affected, so that a higher quality is obtained in the sorting of seeds.
The analysis process can be fully automated by the short analysis time of NIR (number of measurements per second). With in-line spectrometers/process spectrometers, not only can high quality seeds be achieved, but sorting can also be carried out very quickly and a faster time-to-market can be achieved.
Would you like more information about the different lab or process spectrometers for measuring the quality characteristics of seeds? Please contact Kees van der Sar, specialist in spectroscopy at Inventech.
Contact our specialist in spectroscopy Kees van der SarInventech has the right analytical instruments for measuring the quality of seeds
