Publication

Abstract : ABSTRACTThe solar polyhouse offers a promising avenue for preserving the nutritional integrity and enhancing the market value of agrifoods including tomatoes. The lack of scientific data on drying parameters is the major challenge of solar polyhouses compared to other dehydration methods. Real‐time monitoring of a solar polyhouse is crucial for several reasons such as energy efficiency, quality control, timely intervention, data‐driven decision‐making, remote management, and optimal drying conditions. In this study, a self‐designed real‐time monitoring smart solar polyhouse was constructed with the application of cyber‐physical systems. The computational unit processes the data acquired from the sensing units mounted on the polyhouse and performs real‐time decision‐making operations in the smart solar polyhouse as compared to the non‐smart solar polyhouse and sun drying. The solar polyhouse with a smart system maintained drying time (22 h) and relative humidity (26.17%–76.78%) while enhancing moisture loss. Results revealed that the temperature inside the polyhouse helped to retain antioxidant activity (61%), lycopene (20%), carotenoids (7%), folic acid (20%), citric acid (77%), and ascorbic acid (7%) compared to direct sun drying. Even though iron (44%) and calcium (26%) were retained more in sun‐dried ones, microbial (262 × 101 ± 1.41 cfu/g) and fungal (121 × 101 ± 1.41 cfu/g) growth was observed to be disadvantageous. The smart systems disclosed the efficacy of faster drying rates, enhanced nutrient retention, and improved microbial safety for the dehydration of agrifoods. The data generated through continuous monitoring systems on the processing of various agrifoods help farmers and food processors optimize sustainable energy sources, even during climatic variations.