Effect of Different Drying Techniques of Flowers and Foliages and Its Value Addition

Abstract

Fresh flowers and foliages are delightful and visually striking, it can be arduous to sustain their charm and pristine appearance over an extended duration, However this obstacle can be overcome by drying the flowers and foliages, enabling them to retain their allure. The present investigation the effect of different drying techniques of flowers and foliages and its value addition was carried out at the post harvest laboratory of Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj (UP) during 2022-23. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design comprising of two different methods of flower drying i.e. microwave oven drying with silica gel and microwave oven drying with sand and replicated three times containing six flowers per replication for six different flowers and foliage i.e. Rose, Gerbera, Jatropha, Dracaena, Fern and Thuja. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the drying techniques of Rose, Gerbera, Jatropha, Thuja, Fern and Dracaena. Maximum moisture loss was obtained in (T3) Jatropha embedded in silica gel and dried in microwave oven (77.13%). Best score in sensory evaluation in terms of colour, shape and texture was found highest in (T5) Dracaena embedded in silica gel and dried in microwave oven (scores- 4.18, 4.38, 4.03). So, the best drying technique considered was microwave oven drying with silica gel as an embedding medium.