~ 38 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2021; Sp 10(2): 38-40 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 www.phytojournal.com JPP 2021; Sp 10(2): 38-40 Received: 15-01-2021 Accepted: 20-02-2021 Krishna D Kurubetta Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India M Abdul Kareem Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India TB Allolli Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India RK Mesta Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India MH Tatagar Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India K Sweta Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India Corresponding Author: Krishna D Kurubetta Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Horticulture Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India Methods of drying on fruit quality of Byadagi chilli Krishna D Kurubetta, M Abdul Kareem, TB Allolli, RK Mesta, MH Tatagar and K Sweta DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2021.v10.i2Sa.13890 Abstract The experiment was conducted to study the effect of different drying methods in red chilli (Byadagi dabbi) at Horticultural Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, during 2016 and 2017 in rabi season. Drying in solar tunnel dryer method is found to be the best option in field situation for reducing the average drying period (6.0 days) and significantly least per cent of white fruits (7.5 %), as compare to other treatments. This was mainly due to increased average maximum temperature (54.2 0 C), minimum temperature (29.2 0 C) and reduced relative humidity (57 %) compared to outside temperature (Tmax - 36 0 C & Tmin-18 0 C and RH – 74%). This resulted in rapid loss of moisture from the fruits and ultimately reduced the drying period and fruit whitening. The fruit quality parameters were not significantly affected by the methods of drying in chilli. Keywords: Drying methods, fruit quality, chilli fruit, Bydagi chilli Introduction India is the largest producer and consumer of dry chillies. The chilli is a popular kitchen product of Indian household. It belongs to the genus Capsicum. The fruit amassed can be used dried to reduce moisture content to less than 10% and then consumed or exported. Drying is one of the aged practices in the World (Kaleemullah et. al., 2006) [1] . It has been in use since time immemorial for various aims. Processing of food is the most common one. The primary target for drying is the reduction of moisture content. Materials with high moisture content can lead to various adverse concerns when stored for later use like bacteria, dust, pests and viruses. Drying also makes it easier to wrap up, store and ship the materials (Okos et. al., 1992) [3] . In biomass production, the moisture content of the materials has to be maintained at the least for best results. The southern states of India stretched out close to the equator and is blessed through the year with a sunny and relatively dry climate especially, Karnataka and hence it is suitable for the use of solar energy in drying. The use of solar energy reduces the capital investment for any industry set up and it is non-polluting, renewable and infinite (Subahana et. al., 2014) [4] . Conventionally, mature chillies are harvested from plants and dried in the open yards for 15 to 20 days. This method is time consuming, unhygienic and gives low yield owing to loss of seeds through breakage (Vijaykumar Palled et. al., 2012) [5] . There may be chances of affla toxin content in fruits due to fungal infection during drying process, which is a major threat for export of dry chilli. Hence, the quality of the fruit also depends on the method of drying. Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted to study the effect of different drying methods on quality of chilli fruits and to evaluate the suitable method for adopting the drying of chilli fruits. The experiment was conducted during 2016-17 to 2017-18 in rabi season at Horticultural Research and Extension Station, Devihosur, Haveri, Karnataka, India. The freshly harvested red ripe chilli fruits of variety ‘Byadagi Dabbi’ of normal uniform sample size of 20 kg for each treatment was used. The initial average (two years) fruit moisture was 71 per cent. The experiment was started on second fortnight of November in both the years (2006 & 2007). Drying process stopped when fruit moisture attained to 10 per cent. The eight different methods of drying (treatments) were studied with a statistical randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatment details are as follows: T1 - Drying in solar tunnel drier, T2 - Drying on cement concrete floor, T3 - Drying on polythene tarpaulin sheet, T4 - Oven drying (control), T5 - Drying on metal wire mesh, T6 - Drying on surface washed with dung slurry (farmers practice), T7 - Drying on surface of zinc sheets, T8 - Drying on bare soil