Use of TDR technique to measure grain moisture content

The Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique is widely employed across various industrial sectors due to its high speed and measurement selectivity. It is mainly used for measuring soil moisture or electrical conductivity. In this paper, the possibility of using this technique to measure moisture content of various seeds is analyzed. For this purpose, a commercial TDR meter – FOM2/mts with FP/mts – field TDR probe was used to measure dielectric permittivity for different seed species. The obtained results were then correlated with seed moisture content and calibration curves were proposed for each seed species. In addition, the effect of temperature on the dielectric permittivity readout was studied and a correction factor was proposed.