In the Vologda Oblast, harvesting takes place in diffi cult weather conditions, as a result of
which the seeds of perennial grasses come to the post-harvest treatment unevenly, they have
high humidity and a high content of impurities, as well as signifi cant unevenness in ripeness.
Therefore, agrotechnical and technological methods of post-harvest processing in the harvesting
of seeds in each farm are aimed at obtaining and maintaining high sowing and yielding
qualities of seeds. The use of energy-effi cient facilities with the introduction of new technological
methods of drying seeds from fodder grass ensures reduced energy costs. Therefore, the
purpose of the research is to develop resource-saving technologies of drying of seeds of fodder
grasses, which provides high conservation of sowing qualities of seeds and energy savings of
10-15%. The article presents materials on the development of energy saving production line for
drying grass seed with the use of tray driers. This technology enables the complex application
of new effective technical means of drying grass seeds by improving the post-harvest processing
at the level of modern requirements. The research novelty lies in the development of a seed drying
facility based on the method of a multi-sided heat-transfer fl uid inlet which provides high
preservation of sowing qualities of seeds and reduces energy costs. The main difference of this
method from similar developments is constant heat supply around the whole dryer. In existing
dryers, heat supply is carried out from the bottom up so the bottom of the drying chamber is
overheated and the seeds may have low germination capacity. The technology is confi rmed by
patents for the invention “The method of drying grass seeds by active ventilation and the device
for its implementation” and “The method of drying small batches of seeds and the device for its
implementation”. The technological line for drying seeds of grasses is intended to increase the
effi ciency of production of own seeds of fodder grass in conditions of agricultural enterprises of
various forms of ownership. The research method likes in conducting experimental verifi cation
of technical equipment operation and technology of fodder grass seeds drying using the method
of multi-sided heat-transfer fl uid inlet. The technology includes the following operations:
loading of seeds into a drying chamber of the tray type, drying of grass seeds and unloading for
storage. The practical signifi cance lies in the development of a technology for drying seeds of
fodder grasses, which provides high sowing qualities. The seeds are dried in a tray drier, which
makes it possible to obtain high quality grass seeds and reduce energy costs by 15%. This method
of drying with a uniform heat supply can be used for drying seeds of grain crops, for example
in hopper-type dryers
Keywords
grass seeds, drying, process line, heat carrier, power consumption