Effect of Fungicide Treatment on Dielectric Properties of Few Coarse-Cereals Over the Frequency Range of 0.01 to 10 MHz

The effect of fungicides’ (thiram, carbendazim, captan, bagalol) treatment on the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of a few coarse-cereals seeds, namely the sorghum, maize, barley and pearl millet at given moisture content and bulk densities were examined using Hewlett-Packard (HP-4194A) impedance/gain phase analyzer over the frequency range of 0.01 to 10 MHz and temperature range of 30 - 45 °C. Julabo (temperature controller, F-25, Germany) was used for keeping the temperature of seeds constant. The study showed that fungicide treatment caused considerable change in the dielectric parameters namely the dielectric constant and dielectric loss. These changes cannot be ignored when precise and accurate determination of dielectric parameters is required for agricultural technology.