RESEARCH PAPER
APPLICATION OF OZONE FOR REDUCTION OF MYCOLOGICAL INFECTION IN WHEAT GRAIN
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1
Lithuanian University of Agriculture, Department of Heat and Biotechnological Engineering, Kaunas, Lithuania
2
Institute of Botany, Laboratory of Biodeterioration Research, Vilnius, Lithuania
Corresponding author
Algirdas Raila
Lithuanian University of Agriculture, Department of Heat and Biotechnological Engineering, Student ų 15A, LT-53362 Kaunas, Lithuania
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2006;13(2):287-294
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ABSTRACT
In 2004-2005 means were sought to clean grain from microbiological contamination during transportation and storage. For this purpose, grains with a moisture content of 23.2% of the “Tauras” variety were selected and ventilated daily for 8 hours until grain wetness was reduced to 14.0%. The effect of ventilation duration and ozone impact was evaluated according to the changes in grain contamination with micromycetes propagules (cfu · g-1), and alternation of micromycetes species on the grain surface. At drying grains by active ventilation with an ozone – air mixture, at O3 concentration of 700 ppb, the drying period was reduced by about 20%, and mycological contamination depends on initial grain moisture content (w): when w=15.2%, contamination was reduced by up to 2.2 times, and when w=22.0% – up to 3 times. At the same time, the composition of micromycetes species on the grain surface changed significantly: in non-ventilated grain there were detected micromycetes of 26 species, and in ventilated grain – of 11 species. Efficient ozone impact was established only when the mound of wet (w>18.0%) grains was exposed to ozone.