Optical Sorter

When was the last time you chomped down on a cherry pit while eating a piece of cherry pie? Or, nearly choked on a spoiled peanut? Such nuisances are uncommon today.

The reason? Food industry leaders use sophisticated optical sorting systems to quickly remove cherries with pits or peanuts hiding foul-tasting worms.

A small number of leading seed companies is using similar optical sorting technologies to remove damaged or unwanted seed. We are employing this technology as a supplement to the traditional method of using gravity tables and screens to sort seed. Such technology is yet another example of how the Channel Group, parent company of Crow’s Hybrids, leads the industry in offering customers access to new technologies.

“The food industry developed the optical sorting technology. That industry’s products tend to be higher value and their volume smaller than the seed industry. But it was only a matter of time until the speed and cost of owning such systems made sense in the seed industry,” says Curt McKinley, Channel corn product manager.

Kernels of seed are guided in single-fi le down small chutes, seen in the bottom of this photo. Based on information from the cameras, computers trigger mechanisms that use puffs of air to remove the bad seed.

“This technology uses both reflected light and infrared light,” continues McKinley. “The reflected light system helps remove bad seed, based solely on color differences. The more sophisticated optical sorting systems also use infrared light to measure some of the internal constituents of the product. That allows seed containing abnormalities – like fungal contamination – to be identified and removed.”

In the past, seed was conditioned based solely on kernel size, shape and weight, using gravity tables and sizers. While largely effective, significant quantities of good seed were often removed with the damaged seed. And, more importantly, some damaged seed passed the screens and made it into the final product. Optical sorting enables higher precision during seed conditioning.

"We are constantly evaluating new technologies that can improve the quality of our seed." - Curt McKinley, Corn Product Manager

The optical sorting system is being used on Crow’s Hybrids seed corn for the first time in 2004. By 2005, virtually all new production will go through the optical sorter. The system was carefully studied and tested before being incorporated into seed conditioning lines. “Only a few seed companies have implemented this technology. Right now, the customer benefits include improved product appearance and more efficient seed conditioning, which helps Crow’s Hybrids get higher-quality seed into customers’ hands faster,” states McKinley.

The optical sorter is another example of Crow’s Hybrids commitment to seed quality.

Scientists are already using similar technology to measure other internal traits like the chemical composition of seed. Such ability would be quite useful when conditioning specialty products or even products with certain biotechnology traits. “It is promising technology and just one more example of how Crow’s Hybrids provides customers access to new technology components,” concludes McKinley. The optical sorter is another example of Crow’s Hybrids commitment to seed quality.