Employment Generation using Dehydration Technology for Drying Flowers and Foliage and Floral Craft

Abstract

Wild/unutilized/underutilized plant species and ornamental cut flowers can be converted into value added products using simple dehydration technique. Dehydration techniques have been standardized under room temperature, sun drying, press drying, hot air oven drying, microwave oven and solar cooker. Dried flowers and foliage have multipurpose use. A cottage-scale industry based on floral craft can come up for self-employment of unemployed youths and for earning money to the housewives as well as rural women through this creative occupation. A lmost every country is bestowed with rich wealth of biodiversity of ornamental plants due to diverse agro-climatic and regional topography. Floriculture has become a profitable industry in many parts of the globe. Cut flower is one of the main components of floriculture trade. Shelf-life of cut flower is very limited. In-spite of using best chemicals for improvement of keeping quality and enhancement of vase life, the cut flowers cannot be stored for a long time. Non-availability of flowers at time and places where one wants them very much is an additional problem. Present floriculture market is dominated by standard well utilized ornamental species/varieties. But in industrialized floriculture there is always demand and necessity for new products and flower lovers always seek "something new." There are wide range of wild/unutilized/underutilized plant species which have the potential for commercial exploitation in different forms. We use only small number of crop plants for our basic requirements. Many thousands of wild plants have great economic and cultural importance and tremendous market potential for vast number of people throughout the world. There is an increasing interest throughout the world, in "neglected and underutilized crop species" (NUS). Neglected and underutilized crop species should be identified for new uses. But the majority are still unknown to science. Rural and hilly areas are covered with different types of colourful flowers and foliage at different seasons round the year and all these are wasted under natural process. The entire seasonal colourful vegetations can be converted into value added products by using dehydration technique. Dehydration technology can also be exploited for dehydration of promising colourful cut flowers in its original colour and shape for long term enjoyment and for commercial utilization of unutilized/underutilized plant species. Dry flowers that are near natural, dried and preserved, have an ever lasting value that can be cherished for longer periods and require little care. Dry flower market has grown exponentially as consumers become "eco-conscious" and choose dried flowers as the environmentally friendly and biodegradable alternative to fresh flowers. There is large potential to develop the dry flower industry in every country and to provide employment to house wives and rural women. Simplified indigenous techniques have been developed by which flowers, branches, twigs, foliage etc. retain their fresh look for several months or even years. The original shapes, colours and size remain as they were before dehydration and, thus , making them highly suitable raw materials for interior decoration and may be enjoyed for a long time and can be used for any occasion. The technique has been simplified in such a way that any group of people including uneducated rural men/women can learn it within two to three days 1-3. Non-availability of information has been a major constraint in the promotion of dry flower industry in our country. The main aim of the present article is to popularize a simplified technique which can be profitably utilized by all class of people. This will provide guidelines to researchers, growers, florists and industry members for quick commercial utilization of dehydration technique and floral craft. Materials and Methods : Technology Package : A full package of technology protocol is available for dehydration of flowers and foliage and floral craft. Information on selection and collection of plant materials, their processing before dehydration, different methods of dehydration, utilization of dehydrated materials for preparation of interior decorative items etc. are available. No sophisticated infrastructure is required for dehydration. Different methods have been standardized but two methods are commercially viable i.e. Press Drying and Embedding and Drying. Naturally available unutilized flora and cultivated colourful annuals can be dehydrated through press drying.

Full text

58 SCIENCE AND CULTURE, JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 2011
Sci. & Cult. 77 (1–2) 58–61 (2011)
Employment Generation using Dehydration
Technology for Drying Flowers and
Foliage and Floral Craft
ABSTRACT : Wild/unutilized/underutilized plant species
and ornamental cut flowers can be converted into value
added products using simple dehydration technique.
Dehydration techniques have been standardized under
room temperature, sun drying, press drying, hot air oven
drying, microwave oven and solar cooker. Dried flowers
and foliage have multipurpose use. A cottage-scale
industry based on floral craft can come up for self-
employment of unemployed youths and for earning
money to the housewives as well as rural women
through this creative occupation.
Key words: Dry Flowers, hot air oven, micro wave oven, solar
cooker, floral craft
Almost every country is bestowed with rich wealth of
biodiversity of ornamental plants due to diverse
agro-climatic and regional topography. Floriculture has
become a profitable industry in many parts of the globe.
Cut flower is one of the main components of floriculture
trade. Shelf-life of cut flower is very limited. In-spite of
using best chemicals for improvement of keeping quality
and enhancement of vase life, the cut flowers cannot be
stored for a long time. Non- availability of flowers at time
and places where one wants them very much is an
additional problem. Present floriculture market is dominated
by standard well utilized ornamental species/varieties. But
in industrialized floriculture there is always demand and
necessity for new products and flower lovers always seek
“something new.”
There are wide range of wild/unutilized/underutilized
plant species which have the potential for commercial
exploitation in different forms. We use only small number
of crop plants for our basic requirements. Many thousands
of wild plants have great economic and cultural importance
and tremendous market potential for vast number of people
throughout the world. There is an increasing interest
throughout the world, in “neglected and underutilized crop
species” (NUS). Neglected and underutilized crop species
should be identified for new uses. But the majority are
still unknown to science. Rural and hilly areas are covered
with different types of colourful flowers and foliage at
different seasons round the year and all these are wasted
under natural process. The entire seasonal colourful
vegetations can be converted into value added products
by using dehydration technique. Dehydration technology
can also be exploited for dehydration of promising
colourful cut flowers in its original colour and shape for
long term enjoyment and for commercial utilization of
unutilized/underutilized plant species. Dry flowers that are
near natural, dried and preserved, have an ever lasting
value that can be cherished for longer periods and require
little care. Dry flower market has grown exponentially as
consumers become “eco-conscious” and choose dried
flowers as the environmentally friendly and biodegradable
alternative to fresh flowers. There is large potential to
develop the dry flower industry in every country and to
provide employment to house wives and rural women.
Simplified indigenous techniques have been developed
by which flowers, branches, twigs, foliage etc. retain their
fresh look for several months or even years. The original
shapes, colours and size remain as they were before
dehydration and, thus , making them highly suitable raw
materials for interior decoration and may be enjoyed for a
long time and can be used for any occasion. The technique
has been simplified in such a way that any group of people
including uneducated rural men/women can learn it within
two to three days1-3.
Non-availability of information has been a major
constraint in the promotion of dry flower industry in our
country. The main aim of the present article is to popularize
a simplified technique which can be profitably utilized by
all class of people. This will provide guidelines to
researchers, growers, florists and industry members for
quick commercial utilization of dehydration technique and
floral craft.
Materials and Methods : Technology Package : A
full package of technology protocol is available for
dehydration of flowers and foliage and floral craft.
Information on selection and collection of plant materials,
their processing before dehydration, different methods of
dehydration, utilization of dehydrated materials for
preparation of interior decorative items etc. are available.
No sophisticated infrastructure is required for dehydration.
Different methods have been standardized but two methods
are commercially viable i.e. Press Drying and Embedding
and Drying.
Naturally available unutilized flora and cultivated
colourful annuals can be dehydrated through press drying.

VOL. 77, NOS. 1–2 59
Standard cut flowers and other attractive flowers can be
dehydrated in its original colour and shape through
embedding and drying using either hot air oven or micro
wave oven or solar cooker.
Press Drying : The flowers and foliage are kept in
blotting sheet/news paper and pressed dried with the help
of “Plant Press”. The plant press has been specially
designed in a very simple way. The plant press is made
up of two wooden board fixed with nuts and bolts at four
corners. The size of plant press may vary (6" X 12" to
any desired size). Collected leaves and flowers are kept
between blotting sheets and one type of leaves/flowers
are always pressed in one sheet. All blotting sheets
containing leaves/flowers are kept between two ply boards
and tightened with nut and bolt. The materials may be
kept at room temperature for dehydration. Blotting sheets
are changed every 3rd and 5th day to avoid fungal effect/
contamination. This helps maintenance of original colour
of flowers and leaves.
For quick drying, the pressed materials may be kept
in hot air oven at 60o C.
Embedding and Drying : Flowers are embedded either
in sand or in silica gel in earthen/plastic/tin/glass pots
and pots are kept for dehydration in hot air oven / micro
wave oven / solar cooker. The hot air oven is
thermostatically controlled.
Hot air oven : The temperature is maintained 40 –
450C.
Microwave oven : Flowers are dehydrated within 5 –
10 minutes. Pots after taking out from micro wave oven
are kept for two hours at room temperature for setting.
Solar Cooker : Flowers can be directly embedded in
the container of solar cooker and it can be dried under
sun. The time of exposure vary according to day
temperature. The solar cooker can also be operated
electrically. Solar cooker will be most suitable for rural
women. They can cook their food in solar cooker and
rest of the time can utilize for dehydration work.
Results and Discussion : Time (days – in parenthesis)
required for press drying of some common materials are
Fern (9 days); Rorippa, Caeselpinia (13); Mimusops,
Digitaria setigera, Setaria glauca, Digera muricata,
Echinochloa colonal (12); Mussanda, Vernonia cinerea (18);
Ixora, Oplisnemus hirtellus, Wedelia chinensis (11);
Bamboo, Azadirachta indica, Acalypha, Sapium cebiferum
(14); Bougainvillea (8); Thuja (28); Oplisnemus spp.,
Polygonum spp., Sida acuta, Synedrella nudiflora (16);
Brassica (25); Phlox (29) etc (Fig. 2-5).
It has been observed that the fern leaves take 9
days to dry at room temperature but it is dried within 2
days in hot air oven. Similarly Caeselpinia flowers (petals)
dry within 2days in hot air oven whereas it takes 13 days
to dehydrate in room temperature.
Normally it is difficult to dehydrate uniformly the
flowers with thick pedicel/disc. Pressed Cosmos flowers
with thick disc are exposed to a temperature of 50oC for
the first 48 hrs followed by drying at room temperature.
This resulted in good quality of intact flowers after
dehydration.
The optimum stage, time of harvesting and time
required for dehydration varies from material to material.
Some common flowers have already been categorized on
the basis of their suitability for dehydration.
Press drying : Candytuft, Chrysanthemum, Euogirua
keyciceogakam, Lantana, Ixora, Mussaenda, Galphimia
nitida, Pentas carnea, Grasses, Foliage of cassica biflora,
Golden fern, Silver fern etc.
Hot Air Oven drying : Helpterum roseum,
chrysanthemum, Candytuft, Gerbera, Gomphrena globosa,
Helochrysum bracteatum, Euphorbia, leucocephala,
Delphinium ajacis, Rose, Zinnai linearis, Bougainvillea,
Narcissus, Dahlia, Gladiolus, Tagetes petula, Tagetes
erecta, Nymphaea sp. etc. (Fig. 6-7; 10-13)
Different flowers take different time to dehydrate in
hot air oven like Acroclinum, Aster, Bougainvillea,
Candytuft, Marigold (small), Zinnia linearis - 48 hours; Ixora
– 36 hours; Chrysanthemum(small flower) – 45-48 hours;
Dahlia (pompon), Marigold (large), Narcissus, Zinnia liliput
– 72 hours; Nymphea – 120 hours.
Microwave oven drying : Antirrhinum majus,
Callistephus chinensis, Chrysanthemum, Gerbera,
Gladiolus, Legestroemia indica, Narcissus sp., Delphinium
ajacis, Helichrysum bracteatum, Phlox, helipterum roseum,
Ixora coccinea, Nymphaea sp. (Fig. 9)
A quantitative estimation has also been done i.e. fresh
flowers approx. 8,000 of Acroclinum, 2,600 of Helichrysum,
2,700 of Aster, 350 of Rose, 800 of Marigold large, 550 of
Dahlia, 1,17,500 of Ixora and 16,000 of Annual
Chrysanthemum are required for preparation of one Kg.
of dry flowers.
Passport data of each cultivated ornamental and
unutilized species are being prepared on the basis of their
suitability for dehydration.
Techno-economics : Plant Press costs Rs. 100 to Rs.
200/- per piece.

60 SCIENCE AND CULTURE, JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 2011
Hot air oven is easily available in the market or it
can be fabricated of any desired size. The price varies
from Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 40,000/-. Micro wave oven costs
from Rs. 6,000/ to Rs. 20,000/ and the price of Solar Cooker
varies from Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 3,500/-. Therefore, initial capital
cost for starting dry flower business is not high. For press
drying approx. Rs. 2000/- and for Hot Air Oven drying Rs.
10,000/- (along with other raw materials) initial investment
required to start dry flower business.
Production Cost and profit margin : Rs. 4,250/- are
the production cost for 1600 Greeting Cards (9 x 25 cm
size) and profit is Rs.3,744/-. Similarly for production of
100 pieces of three dimensional floral arrangements in
sealed glass containers Rs. 3,515/- are the production cost
and the profit is Rs. 2,485/-.
Suitability of Technique and Utilization : Press dried
materials may be used for preparation of diversified value
added products. Dry flowers with original colour and
shape, developed through embedding, can be utilized for
preparation of three dimensional arrangements (Fig. 14-15).
There is no limit of product range. However, some have
already been designed like : bouquets, gift boxes, wall
hanging, pot pourries, artistic greeting cards, get well
cards, wall plates, calender, pictures, flower baskets,
refrigerator magnets, mirror decoration, hats, embedding in
gold/silver or resin to use as jewelary, landscape, table
mats, costers, three dimensional arrangements of flowers
for interior decoration etc (Fig. 16-19). Floral album may
be prepared for identification of plants for taxonomic
studies. Dehydrated flowers may be used as botanical
specimens for demonstration and for teaching students. A
cottage scale industry based on dehydrated floral craft
can come up for self employment of youths and for earning
money to the house wives as well as rural women by
providing them with a part time creative occupation. It
Fig. 1. Plant Press. Figs. 2 and 3. Pressed dried leaves and inflorescence. Figs. 4 (Ixora) and 5 (Cosmos) Pressed dried flowers. Fig. 6.
Embedding in sand. Fig. 7. Hot Air Oven. Fig. 8. Solar Cooker. Fig. 9. Microwave Oven. Fig. 10. Dried Helichrysum. Fig. 11. Dried Aster.
Fig. 12. Dried Dahlia. Fig. 13. Dried Rose. Figs. 14 and 15. Three dimensional arrangements of dry flowers in sealed glass container.
Fig. 16. Greeting Cards. Figs. 17-19. Landscapes with pressed dried materials.

VOL. 77, NOS. 1–2 61
takes little practice but the results are rewarding. Bose
Institute, Kolkata imparts training in the art and science of
dehydration of plant materials.
Present techniques have the ability to develop new
markets through diversification of products. There is need
to create sufficient awareness about the potential of this
technology. Proper education/training to farmers/florists,
rural women, house wives, unemployed youths etc is
necessary about the dehydration technology, true novelty
of the products utilizing neglected and underutilized plant
species.
Acknowledgement
Author (S K Datta) thankfully acknowledge Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi for
providing Emeritus Scientist Fellowship. Thanks are due
to Director, Bose Institute, Kolkata for providing facilities.
S. K. DATTA*
AND SUPRIYA ROY
CSIR Emeritus Scientist,
Madhyamgram Experimental Farm,
Bose Institute, Madhyamgram,
Jessore Road, 24-Parganas (N),
Kolkata 700 129, India
*Corresponding author: subodhskdatta@rediffmail.com
Received : 7 June, 2010
1S. K. Datta, NBRI Bulletin No. 3, (1997), page 1-20 (with
12 colour photographs).
2S. K. Datta, Floriculture & Landscaping (Eds. Bose, T.K.,
Maiti, R.G., Dhua, R.S. and Das, P.), Naya Prakash, Calcutta,
(1999), pp 696-703.
3S. K. Datta, Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural
Crops (ed. K.V. Peter), New India Publishing Agency, New
Delhi, pp 159-170 (2007).