Sensors, Vol. 20, Pages 6555: Maturity Prediction in Yellow Peach (Prunus persica L.) Cultivars Using a Fluorescence Spectrometer

This study investigated the ability to predict fruit maturity of yellow peach cultivars using a prototype non-destructive fluorescence spectrometer. Collected spectra were analysed to predict flesh firmness (FF), soluble solids concentration (SSC), index of absorbance difference (IAD), skin and flesh colour attributes (i.e., a* and H°) and maturity classes (immature, harvest-ready and mature) in four yellow peach cultivars—’August Flame’’August Flame’, ‘O’Henry’, ‘Redhaven’ and ‘September Sun’. The cultivars provided a diverse range of maturity indices. The fluorescence spectrometer consistently predicted IAD and skin colour in all the cultivars under study with high accuracy (Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient > 0.85), whereas flesh colour’s estimation was always accurate apart from ‘Redhaven’. Except for ‘September Sun’, good prediction of FF and SSC was observed. Fruit maturity classes were reliably predicted with a high likelihood (F1-score = 0.85) when samples from the four cultivars were pooled together. Further studies are needed to assess the performance of the fluorescence spectrometer on other fruit crops. Work is underway to develop a handheld version of the fluorescence spectrometer to i...

Source: Sensors - November 17, 2020 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Alessio Scalisi Daniele Pelliccia Mark Glenn O ’Connell Tags: Article Source Type: research