CSIO develops grain moisture analyser

Premier national laboratory Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) today said it has developed a grain moisture analyser which will help growers harvest crops at the right time after ensuring correct moisture levels.
"CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh developed Impedance based Grain Moisture Analyser (IGMA) which rapidly detects moisture levels on the spot without any need for chemical analysis," an official release said.
CSIO is a unit of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
This technology is transferred to Jalandhar-based grain testing equipment company R L Wason & Co for its indigenous production, it said.
"This technology can help farmers harvest crops at the right time after ensuring correct moisture levels and to decide market sale rates (minimum support price) by the government officials in grain markets.

"It will also help Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses to store grains at the right moisture levels to protect spoilage and losses thus ensuring high shelf life for stored grains," it said.

Moisture content in grain is an important parameter which controls shelf life of the stored grains and is mainly responsible for mold growth and spoilage, the release said.
The cost of the developed technology is almost half as compared to similar imported products available in the market and is completely developed with indigenous efforts, it said.
Being made in India, it is possible to repair and maintain it economically. Also, it will be easy to customise it as per the Indian environment.