EFFECT OF VARIETY AND GRAIN MOISTURE CONTENT ON SOME ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF SELECTED ETHIOPIAN CHICKPEA

Abstract

Ethiopia is a leading producer of chickpea in Africa and the sixth largest in the world. It is a valued crop that can provide important nutrients and is a source of cheap protein. With the development of the food industry in the country, the potential of its processing from the field to industry is very high. It is, therefore, necessary to study the various properties of the seeds and flours derived from the different varieties released by research establishments for future use by the agro-processors and food industry. A study was conducted on some engineering, functional, nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of seeds and flours of recently released chickpea varieties. The experiment was conducted with two factors: moisture content and variety with three and four level each, respectively. Three levels of moisture content i.e. 10, 15 and 20% (wet basis) and four varieties: Arerti, Hora, Eshete and Geletu were considered in the study. The results showed that moisture content had significant (P<0.05) effects on the various properties of the seeds. The physical properties of the seeds such as width, length, thickness, surface area and volumes increased with increase in moisture from 10 to 20% (wet basis). Similarly, the hundred seed weight, angle of repose, sphericity, aspect ratio, porosity, and static coefficient of friction on stainless steel surface increased as moisture increased. On the other hand, the bulk and true density decreased as moisture increased. Furthermore, varieties had their own influence on various properties. Significant differences were observed in physical dimensions, other engineering properties, functional properties, nutritional content, anti-nutritional factors, and flour colour. Similar results were also obtained on engineering and functional properties of split chickpea seeds. Generally the results disclosed that both moisture content and variety of chickpea seeds indicated significant differences on engineering properties and attributes of seeds and flours