Research on Crops

Seeds of 10 lima bean cultivars were evaluated for physical and cooking characteristics. Physical properties of seeds were studied as they were necessary to design equipment and facilities for seed processing. 100-seed weight and length, breadth and thickness of seeds varied significantly. Density ranged from 1.10±0.07 to 1.33±0.02 g/ml. Porosity, equivalent diameter, sphericity, aspect ratio, seed volume and surface area also showed significant variation among the cultivars. Hydration and swelling capacities ranged from 0.34 to 1.61 g/seed and 0.41 to 2.00 ml/seed, respectively. Cooking time of unsoaked seeds varied from 43 to 90 min. Gruel solid loss and water uptake ratio ranged from 2.00 to 10.84% and 1.88 to 2.23, respectively. Correlation among the different characteristics was also studied.