A Comparison between the Effects of Solar and Sun (Traditional) Drying Methods on the Quality and the Quantity of Lemon in Jahrom City

Jafari Hamed* and Khadem Seyed Mohammad Reza

Department of Mechanician Agriculture, Eghlid Branch, Islamic Azad University, Eghlid, Iran.

ABSTRACT: In the food industry, there is an increasing tendency to develop economic ways to prepare food with high nutritional values and sensory qualities. One of the most widely used methods for preserving fruits and vegetables is drying. Citrus are among the most important tropical and subtropical fruits of the world which are highly putrescible and due to the fact that they are not available in all seasons, the main purpose of the present study is to study and compare traditional and solar drying methods of the product. After identifying one of the lemon groves in Jahrom, 80 lemon fruits perfectly uniform in the color and perfectly healthy in the lack of fungal infection were selected. In the solar drying method, 5 packs and 10 fruits in each pack and in the traditional drying method, 3 packs and 10 fruits in each pack were used. After the study of the treatment, fruit shrinkage rate, fruit moisture loss and fruit color index were measured. The results show that in both methods of drying, water absorption decreases with increasing temperature. In solar method, drying time is 17-45 percent less than that of the traditional method. In the solar technique, the fruit color is brighter than that of the traditional method. The results showed that the solar drying method is better than the traditional method. But on the other hand, the use of solar dryers because of the unavailability of equipment is not cost-effective and needs more detailed studies but in terms of the product quality is cost-effective.

KEYWORDS: drying; solar; traditional; lemon; Jahrom

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