Influence of harvesting stages, drying structures and drying durations on quality of korarima (Aframomum corrorima (Braun) P.c.m. jansen) in sheka zone, southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Korarima (Aframomum corrorima) is native crop to Ethiopia which is used as spice and medicinal. It is one of the few under-exploited spices with promising economic value. As a result, there is a huge problem of quality. The capsules are harvested mostly at mature green stage. Besides use of different drying structures and drying durations are other big quality influencing issues. Thus, the current study was conducted with the objective of determining the appropriate harvesting stages, drying structures and drying durations for quality improvement of A. corrorima capsules. The experiment consisted of three harvesting stages (mature green, mature semi-red and mature red), three drying structures (cement floor, ground and raised wire mesh bed) and three drying durations (10, 15 and 20 days) laid out in 3*3*3 factorial arrangement using Completely Randomized Design with three replications. Data on physical and chemical quality of A. corrorima capsules were recorded and subjected to ANOVA. The results of this experiment indicated that the various harvesting stages significantly influence physical quality of fresh capsules. The combined effects among harvesting stages, drying structures and drying durations showed significant variations on physical and chemical quality. Mature green capsules dried on wire mesh for 10 days scored maximum total ash (5.45%), oleoresin (10.04%) and Essential Oil (EO) of seeds (5.53%) and husk (0.93%). Mature red capsules dried on wire mesh for 10 days recorded maximum dry weight recovery (41.30%) while mature semi-red (6.42g), mature green (6.38g) and mature red (6.32g) capsules dried on wire mesh for 10 days recorded maximum weight of seeds per capsule. On the other hand, mature green capsules dried on cement for 20 days attained minimum weight of single capsule (5.89g) and EO (2.82%). From this study, it can be concluded that wire mesh drying structure was superior to obtain overall good quality of A. corrorima capsules. Drying durations and harvesting stages depend up on the purpose of the capsules intended for final use. For immediate extraction purpose, mature green capsules dried on wire mesh for 10 days can be recommended. However, for home consumption and storage purpose, mature red capsules dried on wire mesh for 15 days can be recommended. Further investigation may need to be carried out in the aspect of production, value addition, storage shelf life and package materials.