Validation of an image-analysis-based method of measurement of the overall dimensions of seeds

Abstract Due to agricultural producers’ increasing awareness and the introduction of increasingly restrictive crop protection standards, producers have to use new technologies that are safer for consumers and the environment. In order to meet the requirements of these standards, it is necessary to take the physical properties of crops and agricultural raw materials (basic geometric parameters, shape factors, and equivalent spherical diameters) into account when designing machinery for the harvesting, transport, and processing of agricultural produce. When designing machinery, methods used for calculating the strength of the machine construction and the discrete element method (DEM) used in computer simulations of processes involving seeds or particles require the provision of the exact geometrical dimensions of particles and seeds. The aim of the study was to develop a universal method of measurement of the overall dimensions of granular material particles using a widely available application based on image analysis. The study presents the possibility of using a new method of measuring overall dimensions by means of the widely available ImageJ application on a specially designed test facility.