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Abstract. Drying kinetics of sliced apples were modeled to understand the different moisture ratios for thin layer drying and its suitability on the optimization of open/closed sun-drying and solar dryers. Experiments were carried for three different temperatures associated to sun-drying and solar drying maximums and minimums, 24°C (75°F), 35°C (95°F) and 54 °C (130°F) at air velocities of 1 m s^-1; slices thicknesses were approximately 5 mm. A simulation of drying cycles was carried as an approximation to the real process of drying on the field, where the three variations of temperatures were considered for certain times during the day based on the performance of open/closed sun-drying and solar dryers. Apples slices were pretreated as an organic product with a solution of lemon juice, to meet the current market needs. The effect of drying on pretreated and non-pretreated apple slices were evaluated based on color change by comparing fresh apples slice with dried product using the CIELAB color space standard.