The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a fast and precise method to
determine the moisturecontent of rice seeds by microwave drying. In a microwave oven, three moisture
levels: 1 (13%), 2 (15%) and 3 (19%), and one power level (210 W) were used. The period of time was: a)
for ground seeds, 20, 30 and 40 minutes; b) for whole seeds, 45, 55 and 60 minutes at the level 1 of
moisture; 45, 55 and 65 minutes at the level 2 of moisture; and 55, 60 and 65 minutes at the level 3 of
moisture. In a drying oven, temperature/time used were of 105°C/24hours for ground seeds and 130°C/
2hours for whole and ground seeds. The check treatment was the official method of 105±3°C/24 hours
for whole seeds. The results allowed the following conclusions: 1) the determination of rice seed
moisture content by microwave oven could be an alternative due to be faster than the oven method; 2)
the recomended power to be used for the rice seed moisture content determination is 210W; 3) in the
microwave oven, 40 minutes allows to determine the moisture content for ground rice seeds; 4) 60
minutes allows to determine the moisture content of whole rice seeds.