Prototype Model of sprouts production cabinet (SPC)
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Date
2024
Authors
Jazfer L. Agustin and Zsanelle Kaye D. Antonio
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Abstract
The insufficient availability of fresh, high-quality mungbean sprouts in fast-food restaurants and public markets in the Philippines can be attributed to the utilization of conventional sprouting methods. These traditional techniques often lead to low-quality sprout production due to improper irrigation timing, resulting in unhealthy sprouts, unpleasant odors, and potential microbial activity. A novel approach employing a controlled irrigation system, cooling mechanism and water disinfection method has been developed to address these issues. Implementing a sophisticated irrigation mechanism with simple controllers optimizes the irrigation timing, ensuring ideal conditions for sprout growth and development while regulating temperature and inhibiting microbial activity in the sprout production cabinet. Unlike conventional sprouting, where water is constantly replaced, this sprouting machine uses circulating water, contributing to water conservation. Experimental trials utilizing sprouting trays with dimensions of 54cm x 28cm x 5cm, each containing one hundred fifty grams of mung bean seeds soaked for eight hours, were conducted inside the sprouting cabinet. these trials followed a 2x2x2 factorial design arranged in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD), allowing for a comprehensive analysis of the interplay between variables. Factors such as irrigation frequency, micro sprinkler addition, and ozone treatment have been identified as critical contributors to mung bean sprout development. With these, harvesting was achieved within two days after transplanting. The results of this study have shown that trials A1B1C1 (one-hour irrigation interval, ozone addition, and micro sprinkler addition) and A2B1C1 (two-hour irrigation interval, ozone addition, and micro sprinkler addition) have a significant impact on the germination of mung bean sprouts, yielding average mung bean weight, diameters and lengths of 849.67 g, 2.25 mm, and 79.94 mm and 720 g, 2.28 mm and 79.41 mm, respectively. Additionally, the removal of sprout shells and non-sprouting seeds was facilitated easily. Using RGV values, trials A1B2C1, A1B2C2, A2B1C1 and A2B1C2 exhibit no significant difference in color change. In contrast, A1B1C1, A1B2C2, A2B2C1 and A2B2C2 show substantial differences from each other and the treatment mentioned above combinations. These findings suggests that the absence of ozone and micro sprinkler, along with infrequent irrigation, impacts the color change observed after ten days. Regarding the storage of mung bean sprouts, the trial A1B1C1 produced the most extended sprouts. After ten days of observation, elongation, root formation and leaf growth were evident and no deterioration was observed. Regarding sensory analysis, there is no significant difference between mung bean sprouts from local markets and supermarkets and sprouts produced by the cabinet in terms of appearance, color, taste, flavor, texture, and odor. However, there is a significant difference in juiciness between and sprout sample from the local market (Sample 1) and the sprouting cabinet (Sample 3) but not substantial to the sprout sample from the supermarket. The trial A1B1C1 also results in notably advantageous outcomes across various parameters such as color, length, weight, storability, sensory characteristics, and microbial activity. Additionally, trial A2B1C1 results in greater stem diameter among all trials. One main advantage of having a sprouting cabinet is the shortened production period, requiring only two days instead of four to six days using the traditional sprouting method. Furthermore, the addition of ozone in trials A1B1C1, A2B1C1, A1B1C2 and A2B1C2 has effectively controlled unwanted microbial activity compared to trials without zone. This underscore the efficacy of the sprout production cabinet in generating high-quality sprouts compared to traditional methods.