Influence of solar drying and storage conditions on microstructure, crack propagation and nano-hardness of paddy and wheat

Abstract The influence of hybrid solar drying (HSD) and storage conditions on microstructure, crack propagation, nano-hardness and milling indices of paddy and wheat grains were investigated. Milling yield and head rice yield of dried paddy was 71.48% and 72.42%, which was further increased by 1–1.26% and 3.12–4.65%, respectively. Flour yield from dried wheat was found to be 77.30% and was reduced by 3.5–7.7% after 180 days of storage. Maximum nano-hardness of 0.15 ± 0.02 GPa was obtained for rice stored at 5 °C, whereas, for wheat, nano-hardness, elastic modulus, and peak load values gradually reduced with a storage time of 180 days. Micro-X ray computed tomography images revealed the pore size of paddy and wheat samples to be in the range of 0.01–0.8 mm3. Micrographs showed a compact paddy surface, whereas wheat endosperm witnessed cell disruption and agglomeration.