MARDI Res.J.

20(1) 1992:85-92

Somefactorsaffectingthe productionand quality of beansprouts

(Beberapafaktor yang mempengaruhipenghasilandan mutu tauge)

S. Y. Lee* andC. S. Lee **

Key words:beansprout,production,quality

Abstrak
Tiga faktor yang mempengaruhi penghasilan dan mutu tauge telah dikaji. Faktor
tersebut ialah berat kacang, jumlah air dan kekerapanpenyiraman. Berat kacang
yang optimum untuk kotak kayu yang berukuran 40 cm x 25 cm x 28 cm
menghasilkan hipokotil yang paling gemuk. Keputusan daripada ujikaji
menunjukkan bahawa penyiraman air pada setiap 2.5 jam menghasilkan tauge
yang lebih banyak daripada penyiraman setiap 3.5 jam. Kedua-dua selang masa
penyiraman air telah menghasilkan nisbah tauge : kacang yang melebihi 5:1.
Walauprm selang masa 2.5 jam penyiraman air morghasilkan tauge yang lebih
gemuk dan panjang, nisbah panjang hipokotil : panjang akar adalah kurang
daripada l. Keperluan air sebanyak l0 liter bagi I kg kacang adalah mencukupi.
Analisis regressi secara berperingkat menunjukkan bahawa penghasil an
dipengaruhi dengan ketara oleh berat kacang dan kekerapanpenyiraman air bagi
keduadua ujikaji.

Abstract
Three factors affecting quality and production of bean sprout were studied. The
factors studied were seed weight, water quantity and watering frequency. The
optimum seed weight of 3.25 kg for wooden boxes of 40 cm x 25 cm x 28 cm
produced the maximum hypocotyl thickness. Results showed that watering
frequency of 2.5 h interval gave significantly higher yield compared with 3.5 h
interval. Both watering frequenciesresulted in a sprout:beanratio greater than
5:1. Although significantly thicker and longer sprouts were obtained wi0r 2.5 h
watering, the hypocotyl length : root length ratio of the sprout was less 0ran l.
Ten litres of water per kilogram of seed was adequatefor the production of
sprout. Stepwise regression analysis showed that production was significantly
influenced by seed weight and water frequency for both experimens.

Introduction (Vignamungo).The lesspopularsproutis

Beansproutscan be producedall yearround from soybean(Glycinema.r).Sprouting
as its productiondoesnot requiresunshine techniquescan be simpleand cheap,not
or a mediumfor growth.The sprouting requiringcostlyinvestmenton equipment,
durationis relativelyshortrangingfrom 3 to and with goodreturns(Lee and Liew 1989).
6 days.The popularandwidelyconsumed lvlungbeancanbe sproutedin manyrypesof
sprou8 in Malaysiaare from mungbean containersrangingfrom stonejars, metal
(Vignaradiata L. Wilczek) andblackgram cans,woodenkegsto cementvats.
'Food TeclrnologyResearchCentrc,MARDI Ser&ng, P.O.Box 12301 50n 4 KualeLumpur,Mdayrie
,
'Techno-EconqnicandSocialStudiesDivision,MARDI Headquaners, P.O.Box l230l, fi774 Kude llmprr,
Malaysia
Authorc'full names:[,eeSiew Yoongand[:e ChongSoon
@Malaysian andDevelopment
AgriculturalResearch Institute1992

85
Production and quality of bean sprouts
Seedratewhich is the amountof seed
per cubic volume,is an importantfactorin
sproutproduction.Low seedratewill
producethin and long sprouts,while a high
seedratewill leadto overcrowding,
resultingin short,curvedsproutsand
ungerminated seeds.Seedratewill thus
determine,arnongotherfactors,the quality
of sprous.Gmd quality sproutsare
charrcterizedby their thick hypocotyl with
shortrmts. Althoughthereareno
established standards, from the consumers'
point of view, desirableor quality sprouts
are thosewith shortrootsbut relativelylong,
thick hypocotyls,with smalland unopened
light yellow leaves.Hypocotylthicknessis
importantin providingcrispnesswhile roots
are unatlractive(Chenet al. 1987).
Wateris essentialfor growthin a
germinatingseed.In sproutproduction,
wateralsoactsas a cmling andcleansing
agenLVariousmethodsare usedin
cornmercialproductionof beansprouts,
rangingfrom manualwateringby hosesor
bucketsto the moresophisticated useof
pumpswith automaticsprinklers.In manual
watering,the beansproutsiue watered
frequently.It is, therefore,labourintensive
and inconvenient(Lee 1983).Too frequent
wateringmay be wasteful while a long
wateringintervalmay resultin poor quality
sprouts.
Waterquantityalsoplaysan important
role in determiningthe quality of sprous.It
is usuallyexpressed in termsof litresper
kilogramof seed.Tm little waterwill result
in small sproutswith extensiveroot-hairs
and browningof sproutswhich resembles
burnt effecs. On the otherhand,a higher
rate will resultin unusuallylong sprouts
wi0r thin hypocotyls.A right balanceof
quantityand frequencyof wateringis thus
65ential in the productionof quality bean
sprouts.
This paperreportsthe study conducted
!o evaluat€the effectsof seedweight,
wateringfrequencyand waterquantityon
the productionand quality of beansprouts
underlaboratoryconditionsusingwooden
86
boxes.In addition,the relativeimportanceof
eachof the factorsin influencingthe sprout
weightwasalso investigated.
Materialsand methods
Two experiments wereconductedusing
blackgramseeds.The frst experimentwas
3 x2 x2 factorial,testingttree seedrates
(3.2,3.6and4.0 kg) two waterquantity(10
and 12 t/kg seed)and two watering
frequencies (2.5and3.5-hintenral).The
secondexperimentwasa 6 x 2 factorial
testingsix seedrates(3.6,4.0,4.8, 5.2,5.6
and 6.0 kg) and two wateringfrequencies
(2.5and 3.5-hinterval)with a frxedamount
of water(10 Llkg seed).Eachexperiment
wasrepeatedover two successive weeks
with time servingas replicatesor blocksas
in a randomisedcompleteblock design.
For eachexperiment,blackgramseeds
in a 50 kg bag,wereobtainedfrom a
groceryshop.In experimentl, four batches
of 6.75 kg of dry seedswerewashed
separately in a 15 kg capacitybeanwasher
which usedthe forceof waterfrom a 5-cm
diameterhose.Eachbatchof seedswasthen
soakedin 17.0L of waterin a 40 L
polyethylene bin containerfor 6 h. The
seedswerethentossed,uniformly mixed
and weighedaccordingto the treatmentsi.e.
3.2,3.6,4.0kg (soaked weight).In
experiment2, four batchesof 9.12 kg of dry
seedswere washedseparately.Eachbarch
waslater soakedin 17.0L of waterfor 6 h.
The seedswerethentossed,uniformly
mixedandweighedaccordingto the
treatments i.e.3.6,4.0,4.8,5.2,5.6and6.0
kg (soakedweight).
The beansweregerminatedin wooden
boxeswith internalmeasurements of 40 cm
long, 25 cm wide and 28 cm high. These
boxeshavethreelongitudinalsloa of 10
mm wide at the basefor drainage.Before
the soakedbeanswere placedin eachbox,
clearpolyethylenesheetwasplacedon all
four intemalsidesand securedby thumb
tacks.Freshbananaleaveswereplacedat
the botom from end to end with slis made
to aid drainage.

The 12 boxeswith soakedbeanswere
arrangedin two rows, with the seedrate
randomlyassigned.The selectedtreatments
of waterquantityand frequencywere
randomlyassignedto eachseedrate.The
waterusedwasfrom a 4 500 L storagetank
conveyedthrougha2.5-cmdiameterhose
with a flow rateof 18 Umin. A showerhead
wasfixed at the end of the hose.A sop
watchwasusedduringwatering.Watering
wasdonemanuallyat a fixed time everyday
for threedaysbeginningat 0800h on the
frst day, for 0re two wateringfrequencies.
The experimentswere terminated72 h
from the time tle beansweresoaked.The
top 3 cm layerof sprouts,whichwerethin,
long and greenwasdiscarded.The
remainingsproutsin eachbox wereemptied
separatelyinto a tank of waterand washed,
while mostof the floatingseedcoatswere
removed.The cleanedmarketablesprouts
werecollectedin a sieveand tossedfor 15
min befoneweighing.This is to ensurethat
the wateris completelydrained.The
productionof thesesproutsper box under
variousEeatmentsformedthe variableof
interestin comparingthe effectsof seed
weight"waterquantityand frequency.The
weightof sproutsper box dividedby the dry
seedweightat ll%omoisturecontentfor the
Eeatmentgenerates the sproul beanratio.
This ratio is a measureof the efficiencyof
production.
Ten sproutsper box weretakenat
randombeforewashingand the hypocotyl
length,hypocotylthicknessandroot lengttr
weremeasuredto determinetheeffecs of
the treatmenson the quality of sprouts.
Samplesof beansproutswereobtained
commerciallyfrom two wet and two dry
marketsin Serdangand KualaLumpur.At
eachlocation,0.5 kg of beansproutswas
purchasedeachtime for threesuccessive
weeks.From eachlocation,a sampleof 100
beansproutsweretakenat random,and the
hypocotyllength,hypocotylthicknessand
root lengthof eachsproutweremeasured.
The averageof thesemeasurements gavean
S. Y. Lee and C. S. l,ee
indicationof the quality of sproutsproduced
commercially.
Statisticalanalysis
The standardmodel for a replicatedfactorial
experiment, was usedto analyseseparately
the resultsfor the two trials for the variables
of interest,usingtlre Analysisof Variance
Procedure(SAS InstituteInc. 1985).In
addition,the stepwiseregressionmodel
(DraperandSmith 1981)wasalso
attempted,with the beansproutproduction
as the dependentvariableand the seedrate,
wateringfrequencyand waterquality as
independent variables.The stepwise
regressionmodelwould identify which of
the factorsinfluencedthe beansprout
productionin orderof importance.The
stepwiseregressionprocedureof SAS
InstituteInc. (1985)wasused.
Bean sproutproduction
The analysesof variancefor sproutweight
per box for the two factorial experimentsare
summarised inTable 1. For both
experiments, the responses to two factors,
frequencyof wateringand seedrate were
significant(p < 0.01).The interaction of
frequencyand ratewasnot significant,
indicatingthat botr factorsacted
independently. Therewasno significant
differencebetweenthe two quantitiesof
water.
The relationshipbetweensproutweight
and seedratewaslineu (Figure/). This
indicatedthat the optimumcannotbe located
within therangeof the seedratestested.
The sprout: beanratio was significantly
affectedby only the frequencyof watering
but not the seedrateand waterquantity.A
sproucbeanratio of 5 or moreis considered
desirablefor economicproduction.This was
achievedin both experimentsusinga 2.5
hourly wateringfrequency.Table2
summarises the effecs of seedrate,water
frequencyand quantityof wateringon
sproutweight,and sprout: beanratio in both
experiments.
87
Produeion and quality of bean sprouts

Table l. Analyses of variance for sprout weight (in kilogram per box) by experiment

Experiment I ExperimentII

Soruce of variation df Mean square df Mean square

Replication i 1.87' I
I 7t.76"'
Frequency I 5.70- I 8.52"
Rate 2 8.68- 5 25.10-'
Frequencyx rate 2 0.31ns. 5 0.28ns
Quantity
I
0.02ns
Frequencyx quantity I
0.09ns
Ratex quantity 2 0.05ns
Frequencyx rate x quantity 2 0.42ns
Error u 0.38 ll 0.47
Coefficientof variation(7o) 5.33 4.60
'
significance at the 59o level
" significance at Ore lflolevel
sifrrificance at the 0.17o level
ns = not significant

Table 2. Effect ofthree production factors on mean sprout : weight and sprout:beanratio

Experiment1 Experiment
2
Factor Factor
Seed (kg) Sprout Sprour Seed(kg) Sprout Sprout:
wt. (kg) beanratio wt. (kg) beanratio
3.2 10.39 5.r9 3.6 l 1.58 5.19
3.6 tt.26 5.01 4.0 12.t2 4.85
4.0 t2.46 4.99 4.8 15.15 5.05
5.2 r5.88 4.88
5.6 r6.58 4.74
6.0 17.98 4.79
S.Eof mean 0.21 0.10 0.34 0.1I
LSD 57o 0.67 0.31 1.06 0.33
Watering frequency(h)
2.5 11.86 5.27 2.5 15.49 5.13
3.5 10.88 4.85 3.5 14.30 4.71
S.E.of mean 0.18 0.08 0.20 0.13
L,SD57o 0.54 0.25 0.61 0.19
Quurtity of water(L)
l0 I1.40 5.08
t2 I1.34 5.05
S.E.ofmean 0.18 0.08
IJD 57o 0.54 0.25

Quahty of sprouts producedcommercially,andlikely, the

Data on beansproutsfrom four markets(2
wet and2 dry) we given in Table3.T};.e
averagevaluesfor traits influencingthe
quality,namelyhypocotyllength,root
lengthand hypocotylthicknesswould give
an indicationof the quality of sprouts
quality expectedby consumers. A derived
ratio, the hypocotyl: root length,is
approximately 3:1.
Resultsfrom ttretwo experiments
showedthat wateringfrequencyof 2.5 h
intervalgavesignificantlythickerand longer

88
 S. Y. l,ee and C. S. [,ee

Sprout wt. (kg) Root length (mm)

20 60
! obcerved
-f Prcdicted

50

40

30
0 vffi

Hypocotyl length (mm) Hypocotyl thickness (mm)

35 3.0

tr

!
2.0
T
o?ffi oLffi
3.6 4.0 4.4 4.8 5.2 5.6 6.0 3.6 4.0 4.4 4.8 5.2 5.6 6.0
Seedrateftg) Seed rate ftg)

The firted equaticrsfor the 4 relationships

are
Sproutweight= 1.847+ 2.681-rseed
Root length= 130.864- 3l.6Mz seed+ 2.651xseed
Hypocotyllength= 88.326- 22.43b seed+ 2.031r seed2
Hypocotylthickness= 0.871+ 1.29&rseed- 0.l2lx seed2

Figure L Relatioruhips between dependenl variables atrd seed rate in eryerirnent 2

89
Produaion and quality of bean sprouts

Table 3. Dala on quality of bean sprouts obtained from fow markets

Market HYPocotYl Hypocotyl Root Hypocotyl:

length thickness leng0r root length
(mm) (mm) (mm) ratio
Wet I 39.0 3.30 13.2 2.9s
2 40.8 3.2s 13.2 3.09
Dry I 40.1 3.1I 10.6 3.78
2 38.8 3.42 r4.3 2.71

Mean 39.7 3.27 12.8 3.10

Table 4. Effects of three production factors on mean hypocotyl length hypocotyl thickness,root length
and hypocotyl: root ratio

Hypocotyl Hypocoryl Root Hypocotyl:

Factor length thickness length root ratio
(mm) (mm) (mm)

Experiment I
Seed(kg)
3.2 39.7 2.29 63.3 0.63
3.6 36.7 2.50 57.8 0.63
4.0 35.2 2.53 54.7 0.65
S.E.of mean 0.7 0.06 1.4 0.02
LSD 59o 2.1 0.20 4.3 0.06
Watering frequency(h)
2.5 4t.37 2.53 &.1 0.65
3.5 33.05 2.35 53.2 0.62
S.E.of mean 0.55 0.05 l.l 0.02
lsD 5% r.72 0.16 3.5 0.05
Quantityof water(L)
l0 36.4 2.45 56.5 0.65
t2 38.4 2.M 60.8 0.63
S.E.of mean 0.55 0.05 t l 0.02
L^SD5% t.72 0.16 3.5 0,05
Experiment2
Seed(kg)
3.6 32.3 2.27 49.6 0.67
4.0 33.6 2.33 50.2 0:68
4.8 27.5 2.53 41.0 0.67
5.2 25.r 2.7r 35.8 0.71
5.6 26.r 2.55 37.5 0.70
6.0 27.6 2.5s 37.6 0.74
S.E.of mean 1.3 0.06 3.6 0.05
L-sD5% 4.1 0.19 I 1.3 0.15
Watering frequency(h)
2.5 30.23 ,({ 43.7 0.70
3.5 27.18 2.43 40.3 0.69
S.E.of mean 0.76 0.03 2.r 0.03
LSD 59o 2.38 0.11 6.5 0.09

90

hypocotylcomparedwith thosewateredwith
3.5 h interval in both experiments. However,
in experiment1, the root lengthwas
significantly longer under the 2.5 h interval
(Table4) but wasnot significantin
experiment.2.
The hypocotyl:root length ratio for the
two experiments were less than one,
showingthat the sprouts produced under
laboratoryconditionshad more root than the in water application.Waterquantitydid not
ediblehypocotyl portion. Thus, sprouts
grown experimentallyshowed very marked
differencein termsof the hypocotyl:root
lengthratio. Somework has been done in
MARDI usinga synthetic hormone to
produceexceptionallythick sproutswith
retardedroots,which gave rise to a high
hypocotyl:root lengthratio similarto those
obtainedin themarketstudies(lre, S.Y.
1990,unpublished).More work needto be
donein this aspect,especiallyon the
constituentsof the chemicalsin the synthetic
hormonewith regardto the usageof food
productsin this case,sprouts.
In experiment2, wherethereweresix
levelsof the factorseedweight,the
responses !o seedweightfor hypocotyl
length,hypocotylthicknessandroot length
fitted significantlythe seconddegree
polynomial.
From the fitted responses (shownin
Figure/) the maximumhypocotylthickness of l2L/kg seedwasnot significantlybetter
of 2.6 mm wasat 5.2 kg of seed(equivalent than l0 L/kg in sproutproduction.
to 3.25kg of dry beans).However,at that
seedweight,the hypocotyllengthwould be
27 mm,with a root lengthof 38 mm,
generating a hypocotyl:root lengthratioof
0.71.
Relativeimportanceof thefactors
influ encing sprout production
The stepwiseregressiontechniquewas
employedto identify the relativelymore
importantfactors.ln experimentone,factors
identifiedto havesignificanteffecton sprout kg of seed,the sproutswould havean
productionwerethe seedweightper unit
volumefollowedby the frequencyof
watering(R-= 0.75,significantat
S. Y. I-€e and C. S. Lee
p < 0.001).The equationis given as
S = 4.9583+ 2.593'15*W - 0.975*F
where, S = sproutweight (in kg)
W = soakedseedweight (in kg)
F = frequencyof watering(in hours)
Resultsshowedthat therewasa linear
increase of 2.59 kg of sproutswith I kg
increase in seedweightand a declinein
production of 0.975kg with one hour more
have a significanteffect on the production.
In experiment two, the resultswere
similar to experiment l, with seedweight
and frequency of watering identifiedas the
two important factors(with R'?= 0.62,
significantat (p < 0.001).The equationis
givenas
S = 5.4219+ 2.6813*W - 1.1917*F
Conclusion
Two factorswerefound to havea significant
effect on the productionof beansprouts
underlaboratoryconditions,namelyseed
weightand wateringfrequency.The
responseto seedweightwas linearfor both
experiments, with increasingproductionas
the seedweightincreased. The watering
frequencyof 2.5 hourly intervalswas also
significantlybetterthan3.5 hourly intervals
in both experiments. The quantityof water
Sproutsgrown underlaboratory
conditionsdid not meetthe quality standards
of thosesampledfrom the marketsin terms
of largehypocotylthickness,hypocotyl
lengthand shortroots.However,seed
weightdid affect thesevariables.The
responses to seedweightin thesevariables
fitted the seconddegreepolynomialwith a
maximumhypocotylthickness of 2.6 mm
achievedat 5.2k9 of seed(equivalentto
3.25kg of seedat lIVo moisture). With 5.2
averagehypocotyllengthof 27 mm androot
lengthof 38 mm.
Stepwiseregressiontechniquesusedfor
identifyingimportantfactorswhich
9l
Produaion and quality of bean sprouts
influencesproutproductionratedseed
weightfrst, followedby watering
frequency.
Acknowledgements
The authorswishedto thankMr Abdul
RahmanAbd Latif for his technical
assistance.
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