Review of drying technology of fig

Ficus Carica L., or more commonly known as figs, is one of the first cultivated fruits in human history that is consumed worldwide today. As one of the apparent efforts to increase its production to meet the market demand, it is important to reduce wastage by preventing post-harvest losses. These wastages can be eliminated by ensuring harvested crops receive proper preservation techniques that is accessible and available, especially in rural areas. Solar thermal application offers numerous potentials as agricultural preservation techniques, regardless of geographical and technological challenges. Drying has proven to be a reliable preservation method for figs, in terms of technical feasibility and nutritional quality. Across the three major drying systems; natural sun drying, artificial drying and solar assisted drying, the key parameters that determine successful drying for fig remain the same which are drying temperature and duration of drying. In contrast to the expensive, energy intensive artificial drying and unreliable, slow sun drying, solar drying is able to provide an alternative with adequate drying capacity. It has been shown that this system can be further modified and improved to achieve shorter drying time and constant heat supply, which should be the focus of future studies.