The
marketing values of rice as an agricultural product depend on its physical
qualities after the harvesting. The percentage of whole grain is the most
important parameter for rice processing industry (Marchezan, 1991). Improperly
designed and adjusted rice processing machine may produce large quantity of
broken rice kernel with consequent low marketing value.
To prevent this,
knowledge of the physical properties of the agricultural products is of
fundamental importance during the harvesting of grains, transporting and
design, manufacturing and operating different equipments used in post
harvesting processing operations of these products (Ghadge et al., 2008a, Suthar, 1996).
Information
related to porosity and specific gravity, within other physical characteristics
of the agricultural products, are of paramount importance for studies involving
heat and mass transfer and air movement through the bulk grain. Effect of
different processing methods on physical characteristics of whole pigeon pea is
studied by Ghadge et al. (2008b).
The
different processing methods affect the physical characteristics of whole
legume. Faster reconstitution of precooked, frozen and cabinet dried samples
was due to increased porosity as indicated by lower bulk density and relatively
higher sedimentation values. Higher sedimentation value also indicates higher
dispensability, which reveals the importance of physical properties.