Portable analogue-based electronic moisture meter for root-crop chips

<br />Moisture content regulation of root crops is crucial in post-harvest processing operations, not only in the price stipulation but also to avoid aflatoxin contamination. To prolong their storage life, they are processed into dried chips to extend their usability in feed formulations and starches. In this study, we use the capacitance-based method to evaluate the performance of an analogue-based electronic meter for the cassava, sweet potato, and taro chips. The meter was calibrated against the oven-drying method, yielding high <i>R²</i> values of the different root crops. The established calibration models were validated and revealed high <i>R²</i> values with 0.9580 for the cassava, 0.9958 for the sweet potato, and 0.9798 for the taro. The trendline equations are <i>y</i> = 59.44<i>x</i>^0.56, <i>y</i> = 54.38<i>x</i>^0.47, and <i>y</i> = 52.94<i>x</i>^0.62, respectively. The results revealed that the moisture meter is capable of reading the moisture content on a weight basis (% MC_wb) with accuracy and reliability at specified limits of 8% < <i>x</i> < 69% for the cassava, 15% < <i>x</i> < 59% for the sweet potato, and 9%<<i>x</i> < 57% for the taro. This study presents the performance of a portable analogue-based moisture meter as a reliable and accessible solution to small-scale operations, especially for farmers, offering an on-site rapid moisture content measurement in root crop processing.