Shrinkage of ber (Zizyphus mauritian L.) fruits during sun drying

Shrinkage during drying plays an important role in determining the quality of the dried product. This work presents an experimental study on shrinkage of ber fruits during sun drying. The effect of loss of moisture content from the fruits on the linear dimensions, size and volumetric ratio were studied. The experimental data was also validated with some models proposed by different authors, to predict the change in relative dimensions. It was observed that the shrinkage has occurred in relation with the amount of removal of moisture from the fruits. It was also found that, the transition moisture of ber fruits was 47% (dry basis) after which the shrinkage stopped.