STUDY ON THE DETERMINATION OF DRYING METHOD FOR RED CHILI SEED

Abstract

The aim of study was to determine the effect of different drying methods on germination rate, speed of germination, average germination time of dried chili seeds and suitable drying method for drying the chili seeds. The chili seeds were dried by four drying methods: hot air drying, infrared-hot air drying, heat pump drying and infrared-heat pump drying with the same drying condition at the drying temperature of 40oC and drying air velocity of 0.5 m/s. The experimental results showed that the infraredheat pump drying method was chosen as a suitable method for drying the chili seeds. In this method had drying time was about 38 minutes, the germination rate was 94.67%, the speed of germination was 80.48% and the average germination time was 4.5 days.