INDUSTRIAL PREPARATION OF READY-TO-USE GROUNDNUT SEEDS - THE CASE OF SENEGAL .1. SEED SHELLING AND SORTING

The ready-to-use groundnut seed production procedure has been tested in Senegal since 1985 under an agreement between SONACOS, ISRA and IRHO-CIRAD. Initially, industrial preparation equipment and techniques were assessed, and a pilot industrial production unit was then designed and tested. The different production stages were studied: mechanical shelling, electronic colorimetric sorting, fungicide-insecticide treatments and packing-storage under controlled conditions. The first part of this article looks at shelled-sorted seed preparation. Shelling trials made if possible to quantify the losses observed, both on a quantitative level and in terms of the suitability of the seeds obtained for use as seed, and to identify the conditions for reducing these losses by optimizing equipment and operating parameters. All the electronic sorters tested had a sufficient separation capability for use in seed sorting, but effective sorting still calls for prior seed preparation, involving grading and dust removal at the very least.