Colour is the first thing a buyer looks at and the last thing you can fix. Nearly every avoidable discount in the mandi traces back to how the lot was dried and stored, not to how it was grown.
Drying: even, not fast
Spread thinly on a clean, raised drying surface and turn the layer at least twice a day. Chillies dried in thick heaps cook on the outside and stay damp at the centre, which shows up later as dull patches and mould.
- Target 10–12% moisture — stalks snap, flesh stays pliable
- Cover at night and before any shower; a single wetting costs colour
- Never dry directly on bare soil or roadside dust
Storage: dry, dark, ventilated
Stack sacks on wooden pallets or raised platforms with a hand's gap from the wall so air moves. Shade matters as much as dryness — long exposure to heat and light bleaches red pigment even in a dry room.
Sacking and marking
Use clean jute or PP sacks, stitched properly, with your lot mark on each one. Mixed or unlabelled sacks slow grading down and invite a conservative grade from the buyer.
The monsoon rule
Humidity, not rain, is what ruins stored chilli. Between July and September check stored lots weekly for warmth or a musty smell, and move suspect sacks out immediately rather than mixing them into a good lot.