VISITING SEED FACTORY : PART 4

VISITING THE SEED FACTORY

From the laboratory, we visited the factory.

There were so many high quality machine that used in this factory.
So many machines were in the huge production room.
Grading machine, Corn sheller, Drying machine, packing machines and many more...
Then we visited store house with huge modified store rooms to keep the seed on the best quality.
The room was always maintained the temperature on 20 Celcius degree and the RH below 3.5, pretty cool and dry.
This condition keep  the seed on high quality more than five years.
The last room that we visited was end product store room.
There were lots of boxes that full of various seeds ready for shipped.
Such a great lesson for me...

Grading machine, the process is started here

Corn sheller, to remove the corn seed from the comb.

Manual machine that used for various vegetable seeds

There are so many drying process to keep the seed dry with the water content on the rate 10 %.

A typical Drying machine, the main dryer

A simple dryer that using rice shell as the fuel.

Modified drying chambers

Storing room
The storing rooms were modified especially on the humidity and temperature to keep the seed on the best level.
Light and clean, mold less

Metal platform as base of seeds pile

Temperature and humidity control

The director explained about storing procedures.

Seed stocks

Packing material

Pile of cardboard for packing

A Type of Packing machine

Piles of packed seeds

The seeds were ready for shipping.

A display of Seed products

The mini tour in seed factory have done, then we continued to other interesting places.

VISITING SEED FACTORY : PART 3

VISITING THE SEED LABORATORY 

After the long discussion, we visited the laboratory.

We learned about the complicated procedures, and processes on producing high quality seed product.
So many procedures must be trodden carefully.
There were several germination rooms and quality control rooms.
There so many test, such as germination tests, purity test, water content test, moisture test, moldy test, and many more.
Lets check it up...

The chairman explained about germination testing procedure...

Preparing the germination test

Monitoring the germination progress

Checking the sprouts...

The sprouts were ready to be checked.

Selecting seeds...

Germination room

Purity tester, especially for hybrid variety, it seem like a DNA testing

Growth control

Such a shame we didn't visit all part of the laboratory, caused by limited time.

Whatever that's really interesting experience...

VISITING SEED FACTORY : PART 2

DAY 2 : VISITING SEED FACTORY

Thursday November 21 was the second day of this trip.
We visited seed factory "PT. Bintang Citra Asia", a local company that produce various seed plants, mostly vegetables.

This moment, the company was introducing the new varieties of corn.
Corn is one of the main crop in our town.
We got opportunity to visit the laboratory, factory and store house.

We got a meeting in a nice meeting room.
Look... the decoration of the back drop made of seed packs.
A great idea...

A pretty ceiling in the meeting room... 
Their company logo...

Welcoming session from the chairman

The First session was presentation from the owner that explained about the history of the company and also the progress.

Then we were introduced to the new varieties of corn from this company.

These high quality varieties were generated from long and complicated research process.

We had a long discussion about seed, especially corn seed.

The last session was  handed a gift from our team leader to the chairman.

The presentation and discussion had done, then we visited the laboratory.

VISITING SEED FACTORY : PART 1

DAY 1 : A TIRING TRIP

This week, we were invited by a seed factory  PT. Bintang Citra Asia at Jember East Java.

From our office there a team, four persons include me.

Such a lucky thing, that we could visiting a big seed factory and learning about seeds industry.

A tiring trip, but it was so interesting and meaningful for us.

We met lots of persons from so many places that mostly as 'seed users' or seed distributors.

The place that we were visited was so far, about  450 kilometers from our town.

A long and tiring mini trip, we about fourteen hours to reach that place.

First, we picked up by car to the airport in Yogyakarta by car at 12.00 AM on Wednesday 20.

Then, we had to wait for several times caused by the boarding was delayed.

Second, finally the boarding was at 19.40 PM, the flight from Yogyakarta to Surabaya was about one hours and 15 minutes.

Third, we picked up by car from the airport to the railway station by car, about one hour. 

We had to catch the train to the next railway station at Sidoarjo in hurry, caused by our flight was delayed. Really rushed...

Fourth, about ten minutes after we arrived the railway station, the train was arrived, we got in soon.

We went by train for about three hours and forty minutes until the destination railway station in Jember.

Fifth, we were picked up by car to the hotel.

Finally we could checked in to the hotel at 02.10 AM on Thursday 21.

So tiring...