Statistical process control applied to peanut seed processing

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the stages of the production process on the physiological quality of peanut seeds through the Statistical Process Control. The samples were performed during the stages of plant arrangement, capture, transport, drying, storage (two, four and six months), in addition to the beneficiation stages: mechanical track, classification by size, selection by variation and color, and chemical treatment. For a quality assessment, perform procedures included in quality control laboratories routine, like as water content, germination, first count, seedlings emergency, electrical conductivity, accelerated aging and tetrazolium. After digging, curing, and storage phases, there was seeds quality reduction. However, after processing and in the following stages there was an improvement in general seed lot attributes, due to seeds standardization, raising or executing their performance. In the accelerated aging, there was vigor decrease, during processing, due to natural seed deterioration, since the physiological maturity. Thus, the Statistical Process Control is effective in monitoring the benefit of peanut seeds, allowing the identification of changes and making decision during processing.