Carrot seeds grading using a vision system

The variability of the size of carrot seeds (Daucus carota L.) causes heterogeneity in the crop. Some studies show that the size of seeds is correlated to the germination process (Sokolowska et al., 1997), (Guberac et al., 1998). Having lots of seeds of the same size will therefore minimize the disparity among seeds during sowing and germination. Currently, the seed size grading is evaluated by sieving which takes a long time and can induce errors due to the precision and the accuracy of the sieves. In this paper, a vision system is used to measure the size and shape of seeds. Compared to the sieving method, we can evaluate the individual seed size so the grading evaluation is more precise. Seed grading is easily represented as a histogram. The technique offers an automated and reliable tool for seed size grading. This study is devoted to carrot seeds but the results are also likely to be useful and generalized to other species of seeds.