title: Determination of maize hardness by biospeckle and fuzzy granularity.
abstract: In recent years there has been renewed interest in the development of novel grain classification methods that could complement traditional empirical tests. A speckle pattern occurs when a laser beam illuminates an optically rough surface that flickers when the object is active and is called biospeckle. In this work, we use laser biospeckle to classify maize (Zea mays L.) kernel hardness. A series of grains of three types of maize were cut and illuminated by a laser. A series of images were then registered, stored, and processed. These were compared with results obtained by floating test. The laser speckle technique was effective in discriminating the grains based on the presence of floury or vitreous endosperm and could be considered a feasible alternative to traditional floating methods. The results indicate that this methodology can distinguish floury and vitreous grains. Moreover, the assay showed higher discrimination capability than traditional tests. It could be potentially useful for maize classification and to increase the efficiency of processing dry milling corn.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata CC31 Correo Argentino, La Plata, 1900, Argentina ; Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC-PBA), Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas (CONICET La Plata-CIC) P.O. Box 3, Gonnet, La Plata, 1897, Argentina.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Inteligencia Artificial aplicada a Ingeniería, Departamento Matemática, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Juan B. Justo 4302, Mar del Plata, 7600, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Dai Pra
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Bioingeniería, Departamento Electrónica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Juan B. Justo 4302, Mar del Plata, 7600, Argentina.
authors.forename: Lucía I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Passoni
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas (CONICET La Plata-CIC) and UID Optimo, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de la Plata P.O. Box 3, Gonnet, La Plata, 1897, Argentina.
authors.forename: Héctor J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Rabal
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas (CONICET La Plata-CIC) and UID Optimo, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de la Plata P.O. Box 3, Gonnet, La Plata, 1897, Argentina.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trivi
authors.affiliation: Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC-PBA), Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas (CONICET La Plata-CIC) P.O. Box 3, Gonnet, La Plata, 1897, Argentina.
authors.forename: Guillermo J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Poggio Aguerre
keywords: Biospeckle; dry milling; laser; maize hardness