Spices Board holds demo for electric cardamom dryer

MANGAN, 26 Nov: The Spices Board conducted a display and demonstration of a mechanical dryer developed exclusively for Sikkim’s large cardamom by Chennai-based Kardi Dryer Pvt Ltd.
The demonstration was conducted at ICRI, Spices Board farm at Pangthang in East Sikkim from 24-28 November.
This mechanical dryer helps to retain colour and maintain consistent quality which helps fetch better prices for the large cardamom.  This dryer is fully automatic and can be run by only one operator.  It requires electricity and can also run on fuel [diesel, kerosene, LPG or firewood].
The said machine can dry 200 kg of large cardamom at a time. The State Horticulture Officers from Sikkim headed by Principal Director Horticulture, DK Rai, Additional Director Horticulture, GP Chawan, along with officials from Spices Board visited the display and demonstration centre at Pangthang today.   KM Manikandan, MD Kardi Dryer explained about the operation of the dryer.
The demonstration will also be held in Kalimpong, Darjeeling District of West Bengal from 29 Nov - 01 Dec. A brief training on operating the machine was also provided to department officials by the company.