Our Correspondent
Kohima | March 3
Preservation of fruits and vegetables for prolonged period is a major problem for rural economy. Even if the farmers can grow large quantities of fruits and vegetables for the markets, it often gets rotten by the time it reaches the market.
One of the best ways to preserve such perishable item is to dehydrate or dry then which will increase the shelf life and reduce weight for transportation. Modern commercial dehydration machines are expensive and consume large amount of electricity. Moreover availability of electricity in the rural areas is also poor.
With these in view, a reasonably low cost dryer, which is efficient and runs on wood based fuel has been designed and built by the state’s department of Science and Technology a year ago.
The department hoped that such dryer will help boost rural economy.
• Triple walled, insulated to increase thermal efficiency
• Contain 18 nos. of trays which can load approximately 35-45 kgs of fresh raw materials per batch
• Low temperature drying 55-c- 65-c) which preserves the colour and taste
• No contact with smoke and hence remains hygiene
• Take 5-8 hours to dehydrate depending on the type of materials
• Fuel consumption per batch of drying is about 15-20 kgs of firewood
• Can use any type of biomass as fuel
• Long lasting burner box
• Does not require electricity
• Cheaper to run than electrical dryers in rural areas
