A Laboratory Seed Separator-Grader

ABSTRACT RESEARCH in seed radiobiology requires that seeds be of uniform quality and within definite size ranges. Different experiments may require various classes of seed size with each class having a limited range in seed dimensions. Commercial seed-sorting machines generally have a number of screens (sieves) each of which has openings of a particular size and shape. It is often impractical to process laboratory samples of seeds with commercial seed-sorting machines because of the numerous screens required and the need to rapidly interchange screens in the sorting array. A new, compact laboratory seed separator-grader was built to operate without the limitation of screens. The separator-grader was built to operate without the limitation of screens. The separator-grader was designed pri-marily to sort kernels of cereal grain, and it adjusts to permit selection of numerous size classes in ascending order. The range of each size class can be changed to meet requirements for a variety of kernel dimensions.