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Original Article • Braz. J. Biol. 86 • 2026 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.302959 linkcopy
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Open-access [PARTIALLY RETRACTED ARTICLE] Mapping of quality parameters of pre-processed corn, soybean and sorghum grains [Texto retratado]

Mapeamento de parâmetros de qualidade de grãos pré-processados de milho, soja e sorgo [Texto retratado]

AuthorshipSCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Pre-processing becomes essential to ensure the maintenance of grain quality, since quality parameters such as moisture content, impurity content and percentage of damaged grains must be within standards established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) through the Normative Instructions. Therefore, this work aimed to map the quality parameters of corn, soybean and sorghum grains delivered by farmers to [Texto retratado], during the year 2022. Data were collected on cargo received from cooperative and non-cooperative customers in the classification sector and the data was averaged obtaining the average values for water content, impurity content, gross cargo weight; truck tare weight; net weight; discounted weight and net weight of the load. The collected data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis with the aid of an electronic spreadsheet. After analyzing the data, it was observed that the grains that arrived at the Cooperative in 2022, received from cooperative members and non-cooperative customers, for corn grains, according to the standards established by MAPA, presented water content above the standard and were within the standards established for impurity content and percentage of damaged. The soybeans presented moisture content within the standards and, in addition, the impurity content and percentage of damage in the cargo received from members were above the standard allowed by MAPA only in the months of May and July, respectively. Finally, the sorghum grains presented water content within the standards and impurity content above the standards established by MAPA in the months of May, June, July and August.

Keywords:
grain classification; storage; post-harvest; agricultural cooperative; grain production

Resumo

O pré-processamento torna-se essencial para garantir a manutenção da qualidade dos grãos, uma vez que parâmetros de qualidade como teor de água, teor de impurezas e percentual de grãos danificados devem estar dentro dos padrões estabelecidos pelo Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA) por meio das Instruções Normativas. Portanto, este trabalho teve como objetivo mapear os parâmetros de qualidade dos grãos de milho, soja e sorgo entregues pelos produtores rurais à [Texto retratado], durante o ano de 2022. Foram coletados dados sobre as cargas recebidas de clientes cooperados e não cooperados no setor de classificação e foi realizada a média dos dados obtendo-se os valores médios para teor de água, teor de impurezas, peso bruto da carga; tara do caminhão; peso líquido; peso descontado e peso líquido da carga. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise estatística descritiva com auxílio de planilha eletrônica. Após a análise dos dados, observou-se que os grãos que chegaram à Cooperativa em 2022, recebidos de cooperados e de clientes não cooperados, para grãos de milho, de acordo com os padrões estabelecidos pelo MAPA, apresentaram teor de água acima do padrão e estavam dentro dos padrões estabelecidos para teor de impurezas e percentual de avarias. A soja apresentou teor de água dentro dos padrões e, além disso, o teor de impurezas e o percentual de avarias na carga recebida de cooperados ficaram acima do padrão permitido pelo MAPA apenas nos meses de maio e julho, respectivamente. Por fim, os grãos de sorgo apresentaram teor de água dentro dos padrões e teor de impurezas acima dos padrões estabelecidos pelo MAPA nos meses de maio, junho, julho e agosto.

Palavras-chave:
classificação de grãos; armazenamento; pós-colheita; cooperativa agrícola; produção de grãos

1. Introduction

Agribusiness is one of the prominent sectors in the Brazilian economy, as it contributes to income generation in the country. Among the factors responsible for characterizing Brazil as one of the largest grain producers on the planet is the large-scale production of agricultural commodities, availability of productive resources, production technologies, qualified labor and a favorable climate for the development of cultures.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) represents the wealth produced by a country throughout the year. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2023a), Brazilian GDP, in the first half of 2023, increased by 3.7% compared to the same period in 2022, with agriculture contributing with 17.9% of the total registered, which represented R$2.6 trillion.

After harvesting the grains in the field, attention is turned to their pre-processing. The grains go through several processes in pre-processing units before being stored and they must contain impurities, water and damaged levels in accordance with what is permitted by the Normative Instructions established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA). The pre-processing of grains in the units is carried out in stages such as reception, sampling, classification, cleaning, drying and storage, each of which is essential to guarantee a good final condition of the grains. When they are pre-processed after harvest, the impurities responsible for damaging the quality of the grains are eliminated through cleaning and, with drying, it is possible to achieve ideal levels of water content for subsequent storage and movement.

Storage is necessary to avoid losses, maintain food quality, meet demands between harvests and promote the maintenance of product quality over time, maintaining the biological, physical and chemical qualities of the grains (Burkot, 2014). Brazil's static capacity, that is, the capacity of structures to store grains, is considerably lower than Brazilian grain production. According to IBGE (2023b), Brazilian agricultural storage capacity in 2022 was 190 million tons, with agricultural production for the same year being approximately 380 million tons. Therefore, producers are forced to look for alternatives to transport their production, whether with emergency storage structures such as stock silos, as well as selling their production immediately in order to avoid the qualitative and quantitative loss of grains.

Therefore, this work aims to map the quality parameters of pre-processed corn, soybean and sorghum grains delivered by farmers [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

2. Material and Methods

[Texto retratado]

2.1. Study description

Data relating to the quality parameters of corn, soybean and sorghum loads received from cooperative members and non-cooperator customers during the year 2022 were collected from the classification sector.

The original spreadsheets made available by the Cooperative contained the following information: date; description of the operation; loading list; type of partner; product; humidity, impurity and damage levels; gross weight (kg); tare weight (kg); net weight (kg); discount weight (kg) and net weight of the load (kg). This information was filtered in order to obtain greater detail about the values of impurity content, water content and damage present in the grains received from customers. In this way, more than six variables were analyzed: humidity levels, impurities and damage; gross weight; tare; net weight; discounted weight and the net weight of the load. Finally, the data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis using an electronic spreadsheet.

3. Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damage and net load weight (PLC), referring to corn grains received from members [Texto retratado] in the year 2022.

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Table 1
Average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC), for corn received from members of the Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

Still analyzing the data in Table 1, it is observed that the Cooperative did not receive corn in the months of February, March, November and December, which may indicate the off-season of this crop [Texto retratado]. Furthermore, the month of April is the time when corn arrived at the Cooperative with the lowest water content (13.97%), while for the other months of the year the average water content of the loads was 17.50%, which causes a higher cost of thermal and electrical energy for drying corn grains.

It is also important to highlight that the average impurity content of cargo received in all months of 2022 was below 1% (Table 1), meeting the standards of Normative Instruction 60, of December 23, 2011 (IN 60/2011) (Brasil, 2011) which deals with the classification of corn and, in addition, the average damaged content was below 6% in all months in which corn was received at the Cooperative, indicating that if we analyze this characteristic in isolation, the loads received this year in specific characteristics were of high quality and could be classified as Type 1 corn. However, there are other characteristics such as the presence of broken and woody grains that were not accounted for in the research data and could lead the product to another classification. Finally, it is observed that the Cooperative received 320.11 tons of corn from members in 2022.

With regard to the average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net weight of the load of non-cooperative customers (PLC), it is observed that in the year 2022, the cooperative received loads from non-cooperative customers only in the months of January, August and October, which may have indicated a high demand for grain pre-processing units in the region during this period (Table 2).

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Table 2
Average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC), for corn received from non-cooperative customers of the Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

Just like the cooperative members, non-cooperator customers also delivered cargo with impurity content and percentage of damage below 1% and 6%, respectively, meeting the classification criteria of Normative Instruction 60, of December 23,2011 (IN 60/ 2011) (Table 2). Regarding the mass of corn grains received from non-cooperative customers, it is possible to observe that non-cooperative customers delivered only 73.79 tons of grains in 2022, indicating that the Cooperative mainly meets the demands of cooperative members.

Table 3 shows the average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damage and net weight of the load (PLC), referring to soybeans received from members of Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], in the year 2022.

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Table 3
Average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC), for soybean received from members of the Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

Analyzing the data in Table 3, it is observed that the Cooperative received loads of soybeans in every month of 2022, highlighting the relevance of this crop in agricultural production [Texto retratado]. Furthermore, it is noted that the cargoes received in the months of November and December had the lowest water contents, 10.88% and 10.38%, respectively, and in the other months the average water content of these cargoes was 12.15%, representing a good percentage for subsequent grain storage.

With regard to impurity content, Normative Instruction 11, of May 16, 2007 (IN 11/2007) (Brasil, 2007) deals with the classification of soybeans and establishes a limit of up to 1% for impurity content and, according to Table 3 soybean loads received from members in May presented an average of 1.57%, a value above that allowed by IN 11/2007 and in the other months of the year the values presented were below 1%. Furthermore, the soybean loads received at the Cooperative showed a percentage of damage higher than that allowed by IN 11/2007 only in the month of July with 16.73% and, in the other months, the average was 3.90%. Due to this, soybean loads received during the year 2022, except those received in the months of May and July, can be classified as of good quality and presenting percentages of the characteristics studied as Group I soybeans. However, there are other characteristics such as the presence of greenish, split, broken and crushed grains that were not accounted for in the research data and could lead the product to another classification. Finally, it is observed that the Cooperative received 326.95 tons of soybeans from members in 2022.

As for the average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC) of non-cooperative customers, it was observed that in the year 2022, the cooperative did not receive cargo of non-cooperative customers only in the months of July, September and December, which may have indicated a high demand for grain pre-processing units this year, since soybean is widely cultivated in the region [Texto retratado] (Table 4).

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Table 4
Average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC), for soybean received from non-cooperative customers of the Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

Non-cooperative customers delivered cargo with impurity content and percentage of damage below 1% and 6%, respectively, meeting the classification criteria of Normative Instruction 11, of May 16, 2007 (IN 11/2007) (Table 4). Regarding the mass of soybeans received from non-cooperative customers, it is possible to observe that these customers delivered 315.72 tons of grains in 2022, indicating that the Cooperative meets the demands of cooperative and non-cooperative members in approximately the same proportion. .

Table 5 shows the average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damage and net load weight (PLC), referring to sorghum grains received from members [Texto retratado], in the year 2022.

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Table 5
Average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC), for sorghum received from members of the Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

According to the data in Table 5, it is observed that the Cooperative did not receive sorghum in the months of February, March, April, September, November and December, which may indicate the off-season of this crop in the [Texto retratado] region. Furthermore, sorghum arrived at the Cooperative with a lower water content in the months of January and August, with 12.30% and 12.38%, respectively, and in the other months of the year, the average water content of the loads was 14.67%, which causes a higher cost of thermal and electrical energy for drying sorghum grains.

The average impurity content of sorghum loads received in 2022 was below 1% (Table 5) only in the months of January, June and October, meeting the standards of Ordinance 268, of August 23, 1984 (Brasil, 1984), which deals with the classification of sorghum and, in addition, the average percentage of damaged items was below 8% in all months in which sorghum was received at the Cooperative, indicating that if we analyze this characteristic in isolation, the loads received this year can be classified as Type 1 and 2 sorghum, in accordance with Ordinance 268/1984. However, there is another characteristic such as the presence of broken grains that was not accounted for in the research data and could lead the product to another classification. Finally, it is observed that the Cooperative received 238.18 tons of sorghum from members in 2022.

With regard to the average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net weight of the load of non-cooperative customers (PLC), it is observed that in the year 2022, the cooperative received loads from non-cooperative customers only in the months of June, July, August and October, which may have indicated a high demand for grain pre-processing units in the region during this period (Table 6).

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Table 6
Average values of water content (WC), impurity content (IC), percentage of damaged and net load weight (PLC), for sorghum received from non-cooperative customers of the Cooperativa Agrícola [Texto retratado], during the year 2022.

Non-cooperative customers delivered, in June, loads with impurity content above that permitted by Ordinance 268/1984 and the percentage of damaged was below 6% in all months with receipt of sorghum loads, meeting the classification criteria of Ordinance 268, of August 23, 1984 (Table 6). Regarding the mass of sorghum grains received from non-cooperative customers, it is possible to observe that non-cooperative customers delivered 129.65 tons of grains in 2022, indicating that the Cooperative mainly meets the demands of cooperative members.

After analyzing all the tables, it was observed that the corn grains received at the Cooperative in 2022 from both cooperative members and non-cooperator customers mostly presented average water contents higher than what is allowed by MAPA, established in IN 60/2011, which establishes a maximum of 14% water content for corn grains. Therefore, for these grains to be stored safely, it is necessary to go through the drying stage, aiming to reduce moisture levels, avoid the possible proliferation of microorganisms and the consequent increase in bacterial activity responsible for deteriorating the grain mass.

Regarding soybeans received from members during the year 2022, it was noted that the grains received in the month of February had an average water content of 15.74% and MAPA also established in IN 11/2007, the maximum 14% water content for soybeans, requiring drying. In the month of May, an average impurity content of 1.57% was recorded, resulting in the need to clean the grains in order to eliminate foreign matter and excess impurities. In the same year, in the month of July, the percentage of damage recorded was 16.73%, a percentage above those used to classify soybeans into groups and can be caused by the speed of the harvesting machine in the field, as well as in the quality of the grains produced in the field. The soybeans produced by non-cooperative customers in 2022 showed water content above those indicated only in the months of January, February and August.

Finally, the sorghum received at the Cooperative showed high water and impurity levels for both cooperative members and non-cooperative customers, reaffirming the need and importance of pre-processing for subsequent storage and commercialization of these grains.

4. Conclusions

The corn grains that arrived at the Cooperative in 2022, received from cooperative members and non-cooperative customers, were within the standards established by MAPA for impurity content and percentage of damaged and above the standard for water content.

The soybeans received from cooperative members presented an impurity content and percentage of damage above the standard allowed by MAPA only in the months of May and July, respectively.

Sorghum grains from member clients showed impurity levels exceeding the limits established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) in the months of May, July, and August. In contrast, among non-member clients, only in June were impurity levels observed above MAPA's regulatory standards.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for supporting the research through the PDPG POS-DOC Project (No. 88887.692109/2022-00).

Data Availability Statement

The entire data set that supports the results of this study was published in the article itself.

References

Edited by

  • Editor:
    Takako Matsumura Tundisi

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    10 Apr 2026
  • Date of issue
    2026

History

  • Received
    19 Nov 2025
  • Accepted
    22 Jan 2026
  • Retracted
    16 Apr 2026
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