Method of measurement of surface color to separate tomatoes into groups at distinct stages of ripeness
1992
Higashio, H. (Shikoku National Agricultural Experiment Station, Zentsuji, Kagawa (Japan)) | Okada, K. | Kameno, T.
In Japan, tomato fruits with various degrees of coloration are sold in markets, usually applied by sorting them visually in the packing line. However, the development of a method of measurement is necessary to determine the stage of fruit ripeness accurately for the assessment of quality. Therefore, we attempted to develop a simplified method for the estimation of tomato maturity. The results obtained are as followed: 1) The a* value in the Hunter color system, obtained by suing the Color Difference Meter, was a suitable index for expressing the degree of coloring. 2) The bottom-end of the fruits was the optimum part to measure the change of color compared with the equatorial parts, in order to avoid the fluctuations in the a* value with the cultural conditions, as well as the large fluctuations during ripening, and due to the ease of determination of the position for the measurement. 3) for the application of this method, it is necessary to select an area for measurement which exceeds 10mm (caliber), as well as fruits with a uniform shape. 4) The results obtained with this method of measurement were highly correlated with the conventional ripening index determined by visual inspection
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