Influence of pre-treatments on the dehydration behavior of various ginger (Zingiber officinale) cultivars

The present investigation on the "Influence of Pre-treatments on the Dehydration Behavior of Various Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Cultivars" was carried out at the fruit science laboratory and central instrumentation laboratory, at the Post Graduate Institute for Horticultural Sciences (PGIHS), SKLTGHU, Mulugu, Siddipet, Telangana. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) with two factors, each consisting of 4 levels. Factor one comprises different ginger varieties viz., V1: Maran; V2: Mahim; V3: Kohir and V4: Regodi. The second factor consists of Pre-treatments such as P1: Potassium meta- bisulfite (KMS) @ 0.4%; P2: Citric acid @ 2g/l; P3: Ascorbic acid @ 0.1% and P4: Control (No pre- treatments) replicated thrice. The results on drying characteristics were influenced by the different ginger varieties and pre-treatments. Among the varieties, V2- Mahim recorded lowest moisture content (9.50%) with corresponding maximum values for drying ratio (9.20%), drying rate (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 hrs) (29.15 g/hr,12.74 g/hr, 6.39 g/hr, 3.31 g/hr, 1.64 g/hr and 0.37 g/hr, respectively) and drying recovery (11.32%). Among the various pre-treatments, P1: Potassium Metabisulfite (KMS) @ 0.4% recorded the maximum drying ratio (9.38%), drying rates at successive intervals (35.23 g/hr, 15.66 g/hr, 17.08 g/hr, 3.91 g/hr, 2.05 g/hr and 0.61 g/hr respectively), and drying recovery (12.50%), with the minimum moisture content (9.71%). Among the interaction effects, V2P1: (Mahim + Potassium metabisulfite (KMS) @ 0.4%) recorded the maximum drying ratio (9.84%), drying rates at successive intervals (37.64%, 19.73%, 8.31%, 4.12%, 2.79% and 0.85%, respectively) and drying recovery (12.91%), with minimum moisture content (8.46%).