Economically viable flower drying techniques to sustain flower industry amid COVID-19 pandemic

Imposing lockdown amid COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected flower cultivation and their trades. Flower plants are very sensitive to the harvesting, and any unexpected delay may cause great loss (similar to 50-60%) to the farmers. In 2018-2019, the worth of total production of floriculture products was similar to Rs 571.38 crore. During lockdown, the availability of human laborers and restricted transport has disrupted the supply of flowers to the market. Hence, some alternative options are suggested here for the farmers, for example, conversion of decorative flowers (e.g., anthurium, China aster, globe amaranthus, sweet-william, anemone, sea lavender, etc.) and inflorescence (e.g., Michaelmas daisy, zinnia, statice, ferns, aspidistra, eucalyptus, magnolia, etc.) can also be into value-added products through drying and dehydration technologies. Many dehydration methods such as hot air oven, solar drying, press drying, freeze-drying, embedded drying, glycerine drying, and microwave oven drying polyester drying can be used for flower drying at room temperature (similar to 25 degrees C). These floral and foliage dehydration techniques are quite simple, which can also be operated by unskilled persons. Moreover, it will generate self-employment for the youth and women along with increased revenue than selling fresh flowers. In this review, different techniques of flower drying have been discussed in detail along with the influencing factors, efficiency, economic feasibility, flower waste management and sustainability. Further, it has also been suggested how these techniques could be useful for farmers, researchers, and traders to create value-added products? Hence, the present paper could be very interesting for the flower growers, retailers, students, as well as floricultural scientists who are involved in flower production worldwide. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

Lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on flower cultivation and trading. The restrictions on labor and transportation have disrupted the supply of flowers to the market. Therefore, alternative options such as drying and dehydration can be used to convert flowers into value-added products. These simple techniques can generate self-employment and increased revenue for farmers, while also providing solutions for flower waste management and sustainability.