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“The Effect of Time on Moisture

Content in Fescue Seed”

by

Brandy Harman

12187 N. State Hwy 123

Walnut Grove, MO 65770

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1

ABSTRACT

Summary of the Project.

SECTION 2

INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement

Hypothesis

Explanation of why I completed the

project

SECTION 3

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Step by Step Procedure of how I

completed the project

List of Materials needed for the

Project

SECTION 4

RESULTS

Discussion of Research Results

Conclusions Drawn from the

Research

SECTION 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

People who Helped Make this Project a

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ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:

I wanted to see how much moisture fescue seed gained by setting untarped on a trailer. With this information, I wanted to find out how much money was lost due to the moisture increase.

PROCEDURES USED:

I arranged for a truck to bring seed to the station where I would be testing. The truck was weighed as soon as it arrived to obtain the initial weight of 14,940 lbs. The truck was then parked in direct sunlight, without a tarp, on the south side of a barn. For the next eight consecutive hours the load of seed was probed in five constant locations to obtain samples. After collecting the seed, I put the five samples and mixed them together in a bucket. I took the mixed seed and screened it for

impurities using five screens. After the seed was screened, I measured out 100 grams and put it into the moisture-measuring machine. This machine gave me an accurate percentage of the moisture in the seed. I then took this information I took this information as well as information about the temperature and cloud cover and recorded it into my field notes.

DATA COLLECTED:

I collected seed from five different, selected areas on the truck. The first sample was taken at 3:45 P.M. and the temperature was 90 degrees. It was partly cloudy and continued to stay this way until the fifth sample, which was cloudy. This is when the moisture went from being 20.3% on the fourth sample, to 19.7% on the fifth sample. The temperature at the time of the fifth sample was 80 degrees Feranheit. On

sample 6, the moisture went back up to 20% and it was clear outside. The moisture pretty much stayed close to the same, with the last moisture test reading 21.9% at 8:00 A.M.

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN

1. Fescue seed draws moisture over time.

2. The increased moisture content has little effect on the weight of the load

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INTRODUCTION

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

What is the effect of time on moisture content in fescue seed?

HYPOTHESIS:

I hypothesize that as time passes, the moisture level will rise on the load of seed causing the farmer to make less money.

EXPLANATION:

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

STEP 1

With the help of my agriculture teacher and an area farmer, I arranged for a dump truck load of seed to be brought to the seed buying station for testing. This seed was all cut during the morning and all came from the same field.

STEP 2

When we arrived at the seed buying station, we weighed the loaded truck to obtain an initial weight. The weight of the loaded truck was 14,940 lbs. Gross weight.

STEP 3

The truck’s tarp was then rolled back to expose the load of seed to direct sunlight, just as it would be setting loaded in a field. The truck was parked on the south side of a building to ensure that it remained in the full sun during the duration of the project.

STEP 4

A seed probe was used to sample five locations in the bed of the truck. The same locations were used for the entire testing project to ensure accuracy in samples. The locations that I chose in the truck for testing was approximately three feet from each of the four corners of the truck bed and one location in the direct center of truck bed.

STEP 5

The seed samples from all five locations were then put together in a five-gallon bucket and mixed up to make a sample representative of the entire load of seed.

STEP 6

The sample in the five-gallon bucket was then taken to the seed testing house where it was sifted through a series of screens to filter out impurities such as weed seeds, straw, seed hulls, etc. Once the seed was cleaned of impurities, a 100 gram sample of clean seed was obtained for further testing.

STEP 7

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STEP 8

After recording the moisture and purity results in my field notes, I recorded the temperature from a thermometer that I had placed in the shade outside the seed testing house. I also checked the amount of cloud cover in the sky. The following system was used to estimate the amount of cloud cover.

Clear No clouds or less than 25% of the sky was cloudy. Partly Cloudy 25% to 75% of the sky is covered with clouds. Cloudy Over 75% of the sky is covered with clouds. Rain It was raining.

STEP 9

This procedure was repeated for a period of eight hours. The first sample was taken at 3:45 pm and the last sample was taken at 10:45 pm. One additional sample was taken at 8:00 am the following morning.

STEP 10

The following morning the truck was weighed loaded one final time and emptied. The truck weighed 14,950 lbs. This was an increase in weight of only 10 lbs. from the previous afternoon.

MATERIALS USED FOR THIS PROJECT

Fescue Seed

Dump Truck

Weight Scales

Fescue Probe

Sample Bucket

Seed Screens

Moisture Tester

Thermometer

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RESULTS

The following chart was constructed using the data that was collected from the experiment.

FIELD NOTES

Moisture (%) Purity (%) Temperature Cloud Cover Sample 1 18.9 79 90 F Partly Cloudy Sample 2 19.3 78.4 89 F Partly Cloudy Sample 3 19.7 79.1 83 F Partly Cloudy Sample 4 20.3 79.4 83 F Partly Cloudy Sample 5 19.7 79.7 80 F Cloudy

Sample 6 20.0 80.2 75 F Clear Sample 7 21.1 80 72 F Clear Sample 8 21 78.9 72 F Clear

Sample 9 21.9 80.3 Not Recorded Not Recorded

Fescue Seed Moisture

18.9 19.3 19.7 20.3 19.7 20 21.2 21 21.9 17 17.5 18 18.5 19 19.5 20 20.5 21 21.5 22 22.5

3:45 PM 4:45 PM 5:45 PM 6:45 PM 7:45 PM 8:45 PM 9:45 PM 10:45 PM 8:00 AM

Time of Sample

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DISCUSSION

As time passed the moisture content of the load went up. The first moisture test at 3:45 pm was 18.9% moisture. The purity remained relatively constant during the entire project ranging from 78.4% pure seed to 80.2% pure seed. This constant purity made me believe that I got accurate samples from the same locations in the truck. The last

consecutive sample was taken at 10:45 pm with a moisture content of 21.0%. The moisture increase of the load over an eight hour period was approximately 2.1%

The moisture increased steadily from 3:45 pm until 6:45 pm. At 7:45 pm, the mositure dropped 0.6% to a reading of 19.7%. The reason for this decrease in moisture content is not clear. I assume it could have been a result of one of two things. The cloud cover increased to a reading of “Cloudy” during this time. It was the only hour that I observed clouds that covered 75% or more of the sky. I also observed the outdoor temperature drop steadily throughout the day. We started at 3:45 pm with a high of 90 degrees F and ended the day at 10:45 pm with a daily low of 72 degrees F. This leads me to believe the temperature was not a factor in the drop of the moisture content at 7:45 pm.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Fescue seed will draw moisture over time.

Overall, the load of seed sat for a period of 6 hours and 15 minutes (from 3:45 pm to 8:00 am). During this time the load gained a total of 3.0% moisture (18.9% to 21.9%).

2. The increased moisture content has little effect on the weight of the load.

The load was weighed in at 3:45 pm with an initial weight of 14,940 lbs – gross weight. The load was weighed a second time at 8:00 am the next morning with a weight of 14,950 lbs. This meant that a 3.0% increase in moisture only caused the weight of the load to increase 10 lbs.

3. Seed should be hauled to the seed house for testing as soon as possible to avoid a moisture penalty.

Since producers who sell fescue seed are docked for the moisture content of the load, it is important that each load of seed be taken and sold as quickly as possible to avoid

additional moisture penalties. When figuring the amount of money that was lost because

of this moisture increase, the producer of this particular load of seed would have lost

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ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS

References

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