Tropical Plant Research

Kavita Rathore* and D. C. Jain

*SAGE University, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/tpr.2023.v10.i1.002

Abstract:
Even though they contain vital vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, and carbs that enhance the quality of the diet, fruits and vegetables have higher nutritional benefits than other foods. Many fruits and vegetables are seasonal and highly biodegradable due to post-harvest losses, despite their nutritional and health benefits. Fruit and vegetable post-harvest losses in poor nations are reportedly between 30 and 40 percent. The primary causes of this loss are deficient post-harvest handling procedures, a lack of convenient processing technology and storage options, inadequate infrastructure, and weak marketing strategies. Using preservation techniques like canning, freezing, and drying can help reduce waste and improve the quality of food products. Fruit and vegetable drying is one of the earliest methods of food preservation that has ever been used by humans. It contributes significantly to product quality enhancement, marketability, and storage life extension. In the present case traditional and improved solar drying methods on the quality and nutritional composition of the dried fruits and vegetables are studied using different solar drying methods namely; open sun drying, a conventional solar dryer, and a newly improved solar dryer technology. Results showed that the solar drying methods were capable of retaining the quality and nutritional composition of dried vegetables.