Standardizing dehydration techniques for ornamental foliage plants

Dry flowers and plant materials have tremendous potential as substitute for fresh flowers and foliage for interior decoration as well as for a variety of other aesthetic and commercial uses. The present experiment was conducted on standardizing dehydration techniques for drying and preservation of Nephrolepis exaltata and Thuja orientalis to increase their shelf life by using different drying methods. The experiment consisted of 10 treatments with 3 replications designed in completely randomized block design. Treatments used were as; T₁- sand (room temperature), T_2- borax (room temperature), T_3- sand (microwave), T_4- borax (microwave), T_5- sand (hot air oven at 50°C for 24 hr), T_6- borax (hot air oven at 50°C for 24 hr), T_7- sand (hot air oven at 50°C for 48 hr), T_8- borax (hot air oven at 50°C for 48 hr), T_9- sand (hot air oven at 50°C for 72 hr), T_10- borax (hot air oven at 50°C for 72 hr). Among the treatments, hot air oven drying at 50°C for 72 hr with sand as the desiccant is best for production of quality dried leaves of Nephrolepis exaltata and Thuja orientalis. Drying in microwave with either sand or borax as a desiccant took the least time for drying of foliage. However, due to high moisture loss, foliage becomes more brittle which is not an acceptable character.