All the experiments were carried out in batch mode (2.0 kg) by uniformly
spreading the single layer of slices on the conveyor and maintaining the drying chamber temperature at 80 ± 2 ◦C. During hybrid mode drying, the hot air was pre-heated to 40 ± 2 ◦C and supplied to the drying chamber. For hot air (80 ± 2 ◦C) drying,the same unit was used withoutIR heating.