Abstract:The drying and drying rate curves of Lechang taro were studied under different hot air temperatures (50, 60, 70, 80, 90 ℃), different hot air rate (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 m/s) and different slice thickness (2, 3, 4, 5 mm). The relationship between water ratio and drying time in the drying process was fitted by the empirical models such as : Logarithmic, Twoterm, Modified page, Henderson and Pabis, WeibullⅠ. The fitting results were judged by the coefficient of determination, residual Sum of squares and reduced Chi-square. The results showed that the moisture ratio (MR) decreasing with drying time and the water ratio changes gradually. The hot-air drying of Lechang taro was mainly in slow-down drying stage. When the hot air temperature was 70 ℃, the drying rate was the fastest and the drying time was the shortest. The drying rate was faster when the hot air rate was 2.0 m/s, which was beneficial to saving energy and reducing consumption. When the slice thickness was 3 mm, the drying rate was faster and the drying time was shorter. WeibullⅠ model could describe the hot-air drying process of taro very well. The coefficients of determination were more than 0.997 91. The residual Sums of squares were less than 0.002 88. The reduced Chi-squares were less than 1.69×10–4.