*** Data underlying the publication: 
Effect of drying conditions on quality of primed cabbage (Brassica oleracea) seeds and ethanol degradation as promising quality parameter *** 
Authors: J. Veser, J. van der Tuin, J. Kodde, S. Groot, R. van der Sman, M. Schutyser
Food Process Engineering, Agriculture and Food Science Group, Wageningen University & Research

Corresponding author: M. Schutyser
Contact Information: maarten.schutyser@wur.nl 

Wageningen University & Research l AFSG: Laboratory of Food Process Engineering
Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG  Wageningen
Wageningen Campus - Building 118 (Axis)


***General Introduction*** 
This dataset contains data collected during seed drying experiments at Wageningen University & Research, as part of Julia Veser's PhD Thesis project.
It is being made public both to act as supplementary data for publications (DOI: 10.4121/78b904c2-21ab-40a7-b017-21c545a6b2f6) and the PhD thesis of Julia Veser and in order for other researchers to use this data in their own work. The data in this data set was collected in the Food Process Engineering Laboratory of the Wageningen University & Research -  Agriculture and Food Science Group and at the quality laboratory of Bejo Zaden B.V., Warmenhuizen, between August 2022 and March 2024. This research project was made possible by funding from Rijk Zwaan Breeding B.V. and Bejo Zaden B.V.. 

***Purpose of the test series*** 
The purpose of these experiments was to investigate the effect of drying conditions on seed quality of primed Brassica oleracea (cabbage) seeds. The drying conditions were varied systematically from 25 to 60 °C drying air temperature, 5 - 50% air relative humidity and 0.5 - 24 hr drying time. Seed quality was analysed by several parameters including germination quality GQ (percentage of healthy seedlings according to ISTA protocol), germination speed GS (1/t50 = time until 50% of seeds have germinated), GQ_L and GS_L for longevity (GQ, GS after an accelerated aging treatment, called EPPO in elevated pressure tanks (20 MPa) at 25°C, 30% RH for 8 weeks) and the ethanol index EI (how well the seeds can degrade ethanol when incubated with ethanol solution (30 mM) at 45°C for 24 hr). More details can be read in the publication: DOI: 10.4121/78b904c2-21ab-40a7-b017-21c545a6b2f6

***Material***
The material that was investigated were Brassica oleracea (cabbage) seeds, supplied by Bejo Zaden B.V., untreated and stored dry and frozen (-20 °C) for longterm storage since October 2021 and then in the fridge (4 °C) for short term storage, hydrated with 160% (g water/g solid components of seed) water for 4 days on rolling tubes with 1 mm hole. This resulted in a starting MC of about 36.7% due to evaporation during incubation.

***Test equipment*** 
All drying tests were performed with a humidifier and a thin film dryer. The air temperature and RH were measured with sensors (testo 176H1) at the inlet and outlet of the drying chamber, temperature of the seed was tested with an infrared sensor (testo 835_T1, emissivity of 0.95), the weight of the seed was measured with a balance (Sartorius Cubis) on which the drying chamber was placed, the moisture content (MC) of the seed was calculated from the weight measurements assuming an initial MC of 36.7% based on the average of some samples of the initial MC with the oven method. The ethanol index was performed with a modified breath analyser and an oven. The other quality parameter were measured at the laboratory of Bejo Zaden B.V. on wet paper on a Copenhagen germination table or in a germination cabinet.

***Description of the data in this data set*** 
The data included in this data set has been organised per drying parameter. The files follow the nomenclature system: Parameter_CabbageSeedDrying_Veser_etal_2025.xlsx
with following Parameters:
MoistureContentSeed = moisture content of seeds
RHair_in = relative humidity of ingoing drying air
RHair_out = relative humidity of outgoing drying air
Tair_in = temperature of ingoing drying air
Tair_out = temperature of outgoing drying air
Tseed = temperature of seeds
WeightSeed = weight of seeds

Each file contains two time columns and then 43 drying trial columns. Each column contains the data for one drying trial.
The column header are the trial name, following this nomenclature system: TxRHy_tz_(n)_sm(l)
with:
x = air temperature in, °C
y = RH temperature in, %
t = dring time, hr, if no time is indicated, then it means 24 hr
(n) = duplicate number, this is not always consistently labelled
m = number of series, one series was one period of ca. three months of trials performed by one person
l = trial number

Moreover, there is one overview file (Overview_Quality_...), which includes all the quality parameter and extra parameter for each drying trial
with following (quality) parameter:
Heading		Unit	Meaning
Code			Drying condition: air temperature (T), air relative humidity (RH) and drying time (t)
Name			Short drying condition: air temperature (T), air relative humidity (RH)
Column			Drying condition + duplicate number (x) and experimental series + trial number (sx(xx)) = trial name
Comments		Comments on deviations from the duplicate
Comparison		if deviations from duplicate: FALSE
Conditions		if drying conditions had no errors, such as a sudden increase in temperature: TRUE
Drying_curve		if drying curves had no errors, such as a sudden increase in weight due to a fallen object on the scale: TRUE
Time		hours	Drying time
Tair_set	°C	Drying air temperature that was set
RH_set		%	Drying air relative humidity that was set
Tair_av		°C	Average of inlet and outlet drying air temperature (measured)
RHair_av	%	Average of inlet and outlet drying air relative humidity (measured)
Stdev_T		°C	Standard deviation of inlet and outlet drying air temperature (measured)
Stdev_RH	%	Standard deviation of inlet and outlet drying air relative humidity (measured)
aw		-	Water activity of seeds after drying measured with water activity meter
MC		kg water/kg fresh weight	Moisture content of seeds after drying measured by oven method
GQ		%	Germination quality of seeds (percentage of seeds with successful germination + good quality of seedling)
T50		days	Time until 50% of seeds have germinated
GS		1/days	Germination speed, inverse of T50
EI		-	Ethanol index (more details in paper)
Series		-	Experimental series (one series was one period of ca. three months of trials performed by one person)
Tseed_av	°C	Average of surface seed temperature over whole drying time (measured by IR sensor)
GQ_L		%	Germination quality of seeds (percentage of seeds with successful germination + good quality of seedling) after storage (L = longevity)
T50_L		days	Time until 50% of seeds have germinated after storage
GS_L		1/days	Germination speed, inverse of T50, after storage

Extra Note: For the condition T60RH05, mistakenly the duplicate (2) (GQ = 93%) was used for the analysis in the publication (DOI: 10.4121/78b904c2-21ab-40a7-b017-21c545a6b2f6), but as the weight curve was erroneous due to an external object falling on the scale during the measurement, this duplicate should be eliminated and duplicate (1) should be used. In this dataset, duplicate (1) (GQ = 90.5%) is published. It was checked, the difference between the duplicates has a negligible influence on the published results and graphs, thus it is not substantial.
