| Abstract | Ease of dehuling, by either the traditional mortar and pestle or mechanical means, and grain hardness are quality criteria that directly influence the acceptability of new and established cultivars of sorghum. Mechanical dehulling on an industrial- or village-scale is usually accomplished by the action of vertically- or horizontally-mountedabrasive disks. A tangential abrasive dehulling device (TADD) was constructed to simulate the action of these large-scale dehullers. A carborundum stone or resinoid disk, mounted horizontally beneath 5 to 12 sample cups, provides the abrasive action. Advantages of this unit include its multisample capability, high reproducibility, minimal maintenance requirements, and convenience. Two parameters are determined with the aid of the TADD. The abrasive hardness index (AHI) is defined as the time in seconds required to abrade 1 % by weight of the kernol. Secondly, the extraction rate is a measure of the percent by weight of the kernel that can be recovered as acceptable flour. Flour color was used to determine the extraction rate. These parameters showed wide variation for 31 nontesta sorghum varieties. The AHI was significantly correlated with other measures of grain hardness. The application of the TADD to predict traditional dehulling properties needs to be investigated. |
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