The article raises the question of the need to solve the drying and storing fruits problem. The actuality of drying is the simplest and most economical method of fruit preservation. The analysis of recent studies and publications devoted to the consideration of theoretical and practical aspects of the development of fruit drying is made and highlighted in the works of domestic and foreign scientists. Drying plants main requirements are given. Methods of fruit drying are considered. The goals and necessity of carrying out experiments to study the influence of changes in air temperature and air velocity on the drying process are formulated. The main conditions for obtaining high-quality raw materials at the output in a short period of time with minimal energy consumption have been determined. The design of a convection dryer chamber in which experiments were carried out in the laboratory of the Department of Heat and Gas Supply, Ventilation and Heat Power Engineering of the National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic" is presented. The results of its verification for aerodynamic and thermal performance are presented. Drying plums experiments, their analysis and comparison have been spent. The most expedient variant of plum drying was chosen. The main conclusions based on the results of the conducted field laboratory experiments are made. The necessity and prospects of further research on fruit drying have been proved.