Assessment of suitable Embedding media for Drying of Rose and Marigold Flowers

Abstract:

The present investigation entitled “Evaluation of Embedding Media on Drying of Rose (Rosa hybrida) and Marigold (Tagetes erecta) Flowers” was conducted during the academic session 2024–25 at the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture and Research Station, Mahatma Gandhi University of horticulture and forestry, Durg (Chhattisgarh) to assess the effect of different embedding media on drying efficiency and quality of dried flowers. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two factors, namely flowers and embedding media, comprising 14 treatment combinations and three replications. Rose and marigold flowers were dried using embedding media such as sand, silica gel, borax, sand + silica gel, sand + borax, and silica gel + borax, along with a control without embedding. Observations were recorded on flower size, reduction in flower diameter (cm and %), fresh and dry flower weight, moisture loss percentage, time taken for drying, and qualitative parameters including colour, shape, texture, shattering of petals, and overall acceptability evaluated using a 9-point Hedonic scale. The results revealed that flower type significantly influenced initial flower size and weight, with rose (F₁) recording larger flowers (5.25 cm) and higher initial weight (6.93 g) than marigold (F₂) (2.62 cm and 5.57 g, respectively). Final flower size was also higher in rose (2.89 cm) compared to marigold (1.30 cm). Among embedding media, silica gel (M₂) and silica gel + borax (M₆) showed superior size retention (2.64 cm and 2.55 cm, respectively). Minimum reduction in flower size was observed in M₂ (rose: 0.73 cm, 15.60%; marigold: 0.55 cm, 12.22%), while maximum shrinkage occurred in the control without embedding (≈ 50%). Rose retained a higher final dry weight (1.71 g) than marigold (1.22 g). Moisture loss was highest in M₂ (81.98%), followed by M₆ (79.40%), indicating rapid and uniform dehydration, whereas the control recorded the lowest moisture loss (70.67%). Qualitative assessment showed that rose consistently outperformed marigold for colour (7.05), appearance (6.35), texture (6.35), shattering resistance (7.01), and overall acceptability (7.88). Among embedding media, M₂ recorded the highest scores for colour (7.63), appearance (7.74), texture (7.74), shattering resistance (7.59), and overall acceptability (8.52), followed by M₆. Significant interaction effects were observed for most qualitative traits, with F₁ × M₂ (Rose + Silica Gel) producing the best overall acceptability score (8.87), while F₂ × M₅ recorded the lowest (6.44).