UTILIZATION OF NATURAL AIR FOR DRYING AND AERATION OF ROUGH RICE STORED IN BINS

Abstract

Rice is the most important food crop for more than one-half of the world's population. In Egypt, it is not only a stable food but also a major source of livelihood. The crop is usually harvest at September and October each year at relatively high level of moisture content (20-25% wet basis) to minimize field losses and maximize the quality of milled rice as well as to allow for the timely preparation of the land for multicroping. The majority of rice crop harvesting process has been mechanized by the use of combine harvesters, which enables large quantities of high moisture grains to be harvested in a short period of time.