ABSTRACT
At maturity and harvest, seed often have moisture contents too high for safe bulking, as must be done for conditioning and storage. When seed are bulked together after harvest, they must be of low moisture content in order to prevent deterioration and loss. If moisture content of seed or inert material in the seed is high when harvested, the seed cannot be stored safely, even for short periods. High moisture content will cause heating, excessive mold growth, and drastic and rapid loss of germination. To prevent loss of germinability, high-moisture seed must be carefully dried down to 11-13% moisture before being bagged, bulked, or stored under conditions where free air circulation is restricted. Drying is a science and an industry in itself, and only a general review of drying is covered here.
