Post Harvest Technology of Chilli

Post Harvest Technology of ChilliRationaleChilli is the dried ripe fruit of genus capsicum which is also called as red pepper

Cultivated mainly in tropical and sub tropical countries namely Africa, India, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and USA

Reported to be a native of south America

India is the largest producer of chilli in the world

AP, Karnataka, Maharastra, Orissa, Rajasthan, TN and WB are the chilli growing states in India

Indian sannam variety of chilli is well known the world over

Rajasthan produces Mathania and Raipuri variety which have good demand in India because of their blood red colour and high pungency

Export of chilliChilli is cultivated in 10 lakh ha with an annual production of 10 lakh tonnes

25% of worlds chilli production

Annual Indian export of chilli is around 13000 tonnes valued about US $ 9.64 million

Together with whole chilli, the value added products like chilli powder, curry powder, chilli oleoresin etc add a major share to our export earnings

Importing countries are Singapore, Japan, France, Germany, Russia, Canada, Italy, Israel Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA and UK

Paprika is gaining importance because of its export potential of its value added products mainly colour oleoresins.The chemical constituents of chilli fruits mainly pungency (Capsaicin) and colouring matter (carotenoids) are responsible for chilli export all over the world

Capsaicin is concentrated in the pericarp

High coloured oleoresin can be obtained by extraction of pericarp alone

Processes are available to separate oleoresin in toHigh pungent fraction which represent complete flavour profile - medicinal preparationsHigh colour fraction which is free from pungency Natural food colour in place of synthetic colour

Chilli for better healthUsed as an ingredient in our daily dishes mainly for adding pungency and colour

Pungent principle has so many effects on our body such as anti-inflammatory effect, desensitization against different chemicals, irritants, analgesic effect etcNutritional constituents of chilliNutrientGreen chilliRed chilliCarbohydrates3.031.6Proteins2.915.9Fat0.66.2Moisture85.710.0Minerals1.06.1Calcium0.030.16Phosphorus0.080.37Iron0.00440.0023Fibre6.830.2Vitamin454.0576.0VarietiesSamba and Gundu are the major two types of chilli

Samba K1, K2, CO1, G4, PKM 1, CO 3

Gundu CO2, G 5, PKM 1, PLR 1

Other varieties Pant C-1, Pant C-2, OKM 1, Jwala, Musalwadi, Hisar vijay, Hisar sakthi

Evolved by different organizations suitable for different agro-climatic conditions besides change in the chemical constituents

Drying of chilliTraditional method of chilli-Mud floor, roof top, cement floor

Transported to the drying yard in gunny bags/poly woven bags

Cultivation land is used as drying yard

Chilli fruits are spread on the well levelled drying floor @ 3-5 kg of fruits per square foot

Bed thickness varies from 7.5 cm-12.5 cm depending upon the moisture content of the fruits

Left undisturbed for 3 days and manually turned by stirring

By this, the bottom layer of chilli comes to top layer and helps in faster and uniform drying

Manual turning is done once in 5 to 7 days till the produce is completely dried and removed from the drying yard

Solar tunnel dryer

Solar tunnel dryerThe solar tunnel dryer is a polyhouse dryer suitable for drying of most of the food crops. It consists of a tunnel type semi-cylindrical drying chamber provided with windows to allow the ambient air to enter the dryer. An exhaust fan is provided to evacuate the moist air from the dryer. A sliding door is also provided to facilitate easy handling of the produce. Trolleys and trays (50 Nos.) are provided to hold one tonne chilli for drying.The maximum temperature of the air inside the dryer was observed to be 53-54C. The drying time of 43-45 hours is required to dry one tonne byadagi chilli against 70 hours required for open sun drying. Saving in drying time was observed to be about 40 -60 per cent by using this dryer for drying Byadagi chilli. The dryer can also be used for drying grapes, sapota, figs, mango, amla, fish etc.

Sorting, heaping and packagingDiscoloured, spoiled and other damaged ones are manually sorted based on the eye judgement and experience

Works out to about 20-25% of the final produce

Dried chilli are collected from drying yard in polywoven bags and transported to the packing yard and heaped

Compaction is done to accommodate more quantity in less space

To prevent absorption of moisture from the atmosphere, the heap is fully covered with polythene sheets till packed in bags

Well dried chilli pods are packed in gunny bags for transporting to the market

Cold storageTo maintain the quality and preserve the colour of dried chilli is stored under cold storage

Normally stored during February to December

Storage is done at a temperature of 4-6C and the RH ranges form 60-80%

Cold storages are normally with 4-6 floors and evaporators are placed in each floor for uniform distribution of temperature

Bottom of the floor is made of wooden planks

Walls and roof of the cold storage are constructed with brick and concrete

Latest ones are constructed with polyurethane foam lined with metal sheet with improved insulationTypes of post harvest losses in chilliLossReasonPreservationDiscolourationProlonged sun dryingHarvesting immature podsMechanical dryingHarvesting mature podsMould growthImproper drying or poor storage conditionsProper dryingProper storageLoss of seed due to loose stem or pod borerPhysical injuryImproper packagingGentle handlingCareful packagingWrinkling of podsProlonged sun dryingOver dryingDelayed picking/ over ripening on plantMechanical dryingOptimum dryingTimely pickingChilli Seed ExtractorSeed from the dried chillies are extracted and used for crop propagation

Highly time consuming and costly besides involving drudgery

Chilli seed extractor has been developed to overcome the drudgery due to the pungent nature of the chillies and increase the productivity in the seed processing industries

DescriptionIt consists of feed hopper, beater assembly, concave with cover, stand and an electric motor

The cover is hinged to one edge of the concave assembly for easy opening and closing

The shaft is placed inside the concave at the centre and mounted on bearing at both the ends

Beaters of numbering 40 are fixed on the periphery of the shaft

Fixed at 90 at predetermined interval in a helical fashion in order to enable forward movement of the material as the seed get extracted by beating action

Power from the motor is transmitted through a belt to the beater which rotates at 700 rpm

Dried chilli fed through the feed hopper are subjected to the beating action by the beaters and macerated into pieces without cell rupture and thereby seeds are separated from the fruits

Seeds and hulls/pulp are conveyed and discharged through the outlet

Seed is then separated from the hulls manually

Salient featuresCapacity of the unit is 50 kg/h

Cost of the unit is Rs.15000

Seed quality is not affected

Pulp can be used for culinary purpose

Cost of operation is Rs.15/kg of seed

Seed extraction efficiency is 96%

Chilli Seed Extractor