ศูนย์นวัตกรรมเทคโนโลยีหลังการเก็บเกี่ยว

Methods to utilize tobacco kilns for curing (drying) and/or storage of alternative crops.

Hooren, D. L. van; Lester, H. R.;

Report - Agricultural Energy Centre, Ontario, Canada Year: 1990 Issue: No. 90-5103 Pages: 117 pp.

1990

บทคัดย่อ

Methods of using tobacco kilns for postharvest conditioning of crops other than tobacco were investigated. Ginseng, spanish onions, groundnuts, flowers, sweet potatoes and garlic were either cured or dried in bulk kilns. The only crop stored in bulk kilns after curing was sweet potatoes. Testing was conducted either in full-size bulk kilns on farms or in small-scale bulk kilns at a research facility. The investigation focused on kiln modifications required, crop loading/unloading methods, crop conditioning processes, energy usage and resulting crop quality. Overall, the results indicate that all of these crops can be conditioned successfully in bulk tobacco kilns when appropriate air conditions are maintained, which for some crops requires kiln modifications. In addition, the effects of groundnut curing air flow rates and the effects of refrigerating ginseng root prior to drying, when bulk kilns are used, were investigated. Results were that curing air flow rates between 200 and 500 litre s-1m-3 of pods did not affect groundnut quality. Refrigerating ginseng roots after digging for 2 or 4 weeks and drying at a constant air temp. of 38 deg C provided better quality dried roots than when roots were not refrigerated and dried at 38 deg C.