Investigation of the unevenness of drying according to physico-mechanical properties during the preparation of flax

Relevance. Uniformity in physical and mechanical properties during the drying process is one of the conditions for obtaining high-quality flax. Modern data on the dynamics of changes in the uniformity and level of values of separability, strength, and color of stems during the preparation of flax, depending on agrotechnical techniques and its effect on the quality of flax and fiber produced, is clearly insufficient. Therefore, the study of the unevenness of drying by physico-mechanical properties during the preparation of flax is relevant. Methods. The research was conducted in accordance with the current guidelines for conducting field experiments with flax. Standard methods of mathematical statistics were used to process experimental data. Qualitative indicators were determined and the quality of flax and fiber was assessed according to the methods of current standards. Results. It was found that during the preparation of the flax seed, the unevenness of the laying in terms of separability, strength, and color of the stems decreased the most in the variant with the use of wrapping ribbons and flattening the lumpy part of the stems. With the highest value of the separability index, reached by the time the flax mill was ready, 8.5 units, the unevenness, depending on the yield of flax, in separability, measured by the coefficient of variation, decreased from 10.6%, 46.2% to 4.2%, 5.0%; in strength — from 24.6%, 23.4% to 10.8%, 13.4%. The content of stems of non-primary color in the mass of the sample decreased from 5.0%, 7.0% to 0%. The complete uniformity in the color of the stems led to the production of flax fiber of high numbers 2.97, 3.03 and long fiber numbers 12.00, 14.00.