POST-HARVEST technology is an important aspect in agriculture, and it can contribute significantly in ensuring better shelf life for agricultural produce and thereby better returns to the farmers. Timely drying of agricultural produce to the right moisture contents is a critical operation as it can help mitigate heavy financial losses. Farmers have experienced serious losses during untimely rains which hamper the drying process.

A simple dryer which can reduce the moisture content to an optimal level for milling and subsequent storage is what a rice farmer would need. The dried paddy can then give maximum milling yield in terms of whole rice grains.

Freshly harvested paddy normally has a moisture content ranging between 22-25 per cent. An optimum moisture content of 13-14 per cent is deemed safe for storage of high quality rice.

Reducing the moisture content of paddy from 20% to 14% needs several hours of drying.

As the grain is being dried, it also should be ‘conditioned’ when the moisture content reaches 16%. The drying process is stopped for a while, and then resumed, using appropriate temperatures and drying times. This interval is called ‘conditioning’ or ‘tempering’, and it may vary with the variety of the rice and the severity of the process.

This dryer simplifies the drying process, and the mechanically dried rice can be stored for long. There is no need to worry about drying problems during raining seasons, and it would ensure a good quality produce.

The low-temperature, re-circulating batch-type dryer can dry a host of grains such as paddy, corn and seeds.