Comparison of microwave drying and oven-drying techniques for moisture determination of three paddy (Oryza sativa L.) varieties

Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture

Table 2 Mean (± standard deviation) of five apparent moisture contents of three paddy varieties determined by air oven and microwave oven-drying methods

Standard mean (± SD) air oven m.c. (w.b.%)	Apparent mean (± SD) MW oven m.c. (w.b.%)
Standard mean (± SD) air oven m.c. (w.b.%)	265 W for 20 min	550 W for 7 min	870 W for 4 min
12.60 ± 0.14^a*	12.20 ± 0.14^a*	12.33 ± 0.12^a*	13.80 ± 0.11^b*
14.67 ± 0.31^b	12.87 ± 0.22^a	14.13 ± 0.22^b	16.47 ± 0.22^c
17.07 ± 0.08^a	16.93 ± 0.22^a	16.87 ± 0.18^a	18.84 ± 0.21^b
18.56 ± 0.64^b	15.33 ± 0.08^a	18.33 ± 0.12^b	20.27 ± 0.16^c
19.93 ± 0.16^b	16.47 ± 0.22^a	20.47 ± 0.29^b	21.87 ± 0.29^c

^*Mean (± SD) followed by a common letter within a row are not significantly different (P > 0.05)