Low-Temperature Drying of Organic Fruits and Vegetables**

成立于2007年的直根农场已经成为新斯科舍省最大的有机水果和蔬菜生产商，年销售额超过100万美元。成功的关键是他们新鲜有机农产品的优质和社区共享农业(CSA)的商业模式，这种模式允许将有机种植的水果/蔬菜作为新鲜农产品直接送货到家。今天，塔鲁特农场正在向威廉斯港和新斯科舍省坦塔隆之间的16个地点运送有机农产品。该公司是加拿大大西洋有机区域网络的骄傲成员，获得加拿大GAP认可，并通过大西洋有机认证。为了保持在有机行业的领先地位，该公司正在投资有机农业的创新技术，改进耕作方式、产品和服务。主根农场的具体问题是其有机种植的水果和蔬菜的保质期较短，这限制了生产能力、淡季交货选择和整体业务盈利能力。因此，公司正在寻找创新的干燥技术，以更好地利用有机种植的新鲜农产品。这是taroot农场与Alex Martynenko博士(达尔豪西大学)的首次合作，后者在干燥技术方面拥有丰富的专业知识。本项目的目的是探索有机果蔬低温干燥新技术。前人的研究表明，低温干燥技术成本低，适用于水果干燥，但在有机农产品干燥方面还没有人研究过。在这个为期6个月的项目中，我们将研究低温干燥对有机水果品质和干燥效率的影响。在该项目中获得的知识将用于低温干燥技术的商业化和进一步开发，作为中小型农业企业的一种具有成本效益的解决方案。预计低温干燥的商业应用将使直根农场在生产供应国内和国际市场的干燥有机食品方面获得竞争优势。

Established in 2007, TapRoot Farms has become the largest producer of organic fruit and vegetables in Nova Scotia with more than $1 Million in annual sales. The key to success is the premium quality of their fresh organic produce and the business model of Community Shared Agriculture (CSA), which allows direct home delivery of organic-grown fruits/vegetables as fresh produce. Today TapRoot Farms is delivering organic produce to 16 locations between Port Williams and Tantallon Nova Scotia. The Company is a proud member of Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network, recognized by Canada GAP and is certified with Atlantic Certified Organic. To maintain the status as a leader in the organic industry, the Company is investing in novel technologies of organic agriculture, improving farming practices, products and services. The specific problem of TapRoot Farms is the short shelf-life of their organic-grown fruits and vegetables, which limits production capacity, options for off-season delivery and overall business profitability. Therefore, the Company is looking for innovative drying technology for better utilization of organically grown fresh produce. This is the first time partnership between TapRoot Farms and Dr. Alex Martynenko (Dalhousie University), who has significant expertise in drying technologies. The objective of this project is to explore new low-temperature drying technology for organically grown fruits and vegetables. Previous research shows that low-temperature technology is cost efficient and suitable for fruit drying, but it has never been studied for drying of organic produce. In this 6-month project we are going to study the effects of low-temperature drying on the organic fruits quality and drying efficiency. The knowledge gained in this project will be used for the commercialization and further development of low-temperature drying technology as a cost-efficient solution for small- and medium size agricultural enterprises. It is expected that commercial application of low-temperature drying will allow TapRoot Farms to gain competitive edge in the production of dried organic foods for domestic and international markets.******