Drying of any crop is a complex technological process, accompanied by a change in the content of not only the amount of moisture in them, but also useful substances and properties. The improvement of the drying technology of small-seeded crops should be aimed at preserving the sowing qualities of seeds (germination ability and germination energy), therefore, the assessment of the quality of rape plant seeds after the drying process in a conveyor-cascade type drying unit is an important and integral part of the work, and the use of modern mathematical methods is an integral part of the processing and interpretation of the results of field experiments. The experiment and analysis of the results of the work were carried out according to the methodology of the state variety testing of agricultural crops. The results were processed using two-factor analisys.

Storage of green crops for a long time, possibly at a moisture content of no higher than 15%. Therefore, drying plays a decisive role in this technological process. The rationality of the choice of drying technology is judged by two criteria: high energy efficiency and the degree of mitigation of the thermal effect on the product structure. The use of IR radiation in the process of drying green crops is one of the promising directions. A film electric heater is one of the sources of infrared radiation, which is able to provide high-quality low-temperature drying. Investigating the drying of green crops using electric film heaters, we substantiated the necessary parameters of the radiation source based on the optical characteristics of the drying object. The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Chelyabinsk Region within the framework of the scientific project No. 20-416-740001. The article describes the design of an electric film heater. Based on the optical characteristics of the absorption spectrum of dill and parsley, as well as the laws of thermal radiation, the necessary temperature regime for the operation of the heater as a source of infrared radiation is substantiated. Based on this, the choice of the power density and design parameters of the film electric heater is made. An analysis of the absorption spectrum led to the conclusion that all the main maxima are in the wavelength range from 4 μm to 11 μm. Calculations have shown that the maximum integral radiation flux in this range is provided at an average temperature of the emitter surface of about 500C. Moreover, to cover the two largest maxima, the temperature of various points of the heater should be in the range from 460C to 900C. This is achievable at a power density of an electric film heater of about 260 W / m2 and a distance between current-carrying elements of 4.5 cm. The analysis of the results obtained, and the technical features of the electric film heater indicates the possibility of its application to create effective modes of drying green crops. The upper end of the temperature range during the drying process is the limit for polyethylene terephthalate. Therefore, the goal of further research is to find solutions to increase the reliability of the film electric heater.