Accelerated drying of groundnuts

Curing and drying of unshelled groundnuts is difficult when harvesting coincides with the rainy season. Groundnuts on haulms have then a high moisture content and if not cured or dried artificially to a safe moisture level, deteriorate quickly on storage. Work on the comparative merits of sun-drying and accelerated-drying has been carried out and the storage behaviour of the respective lots studied using as a control, nuts, not subjected either to sun or accelerated drying. Sun-dried groundnuts were slightly lower in free fatty acids during the storage period. Accelerated-dried groundnuts also kept well both in respect of free fatty acids and peroxide value of oils.