Abstract:Liguang apricots were processed by weak microwave‐assisted air drying，and the effects of different loading amounts，material distribution positions，and microwave emitters on the drying characteristics were in‐vestigated. Four drying models were used to fit the relationship between the moisture ratio and the number of drying cycles，and the dynamic models of drying were established. The results showed that different loading amounts，material distribution positions，and emitters all affected the drying characteristics. Among them，the loading amount had the greatest influence. A small loading amount on the tray promoted drying，which short‐ened the time required to reach the constant weight.When the loading amount was 100 g，the number of drying cycles was reduced by 80 compared with that in the 900 g group. The drying process was divided into two stages characterized by a falling drying rate and a drying constant rate.Under the three factors，the initial stage of drying all presented a falling drying rate，and the drying rate became constant after 60 cycles.Comparison of the coefficient of determination，chi‐square，average deviation，and root mean square deviation showed that the Page model could well predict the weak microwave‐assisted air drying process of apricots.