Improving the Sun Drying of Apricots (Prunus armeniaca) with Photo-Selective Dryer Cabinet Materials.

Photo-selective materials have been studied for their effects on the preharvest quality of horticultural crops, but little work has been done on potential postharvest processing effects. The aim of this work was to characterize the effects of 5 different photo-selective acrylic materials (used as the lid to a single-layer sun drying cabinet) on the drying rate and quality of apricots (Prunus armeniaca). Photo-selective cabinet materials that transmit light in the visible portion of the solar spectrum accelerate the apricots' drying rate in both the early period of drying and the course of drying as a whole.