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The use of non-invasive techniques for the assessment of fruit maturation and quality

Author(s): Umesh Kumar Acharya
Supervisor(s): Prof. Kerry Walsh & Dr Phul Subedi

Field of Research: Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
Research Organisation: Centre for Plant and Water Science

Abstract

Fruits vary in size, shape, color and chemical composition, with this variation only partly due to variation in maturity/ripening stage. Fruit has long been graded on size, shape and color, and since the 1990s, near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used in a commercial context, both off and online, to assess soluble sugar content of certain fruit. NIRS may be applicable to measure fruit maturation (ability to ripen) or ripeness (as assessed by attributes such as dry matter content, pigmentation, acidity and firmness), in terms of quality control on time of harvest or out-turn from ripening rooms. Further, NIRS may be applicable for assessment of a character that renders the product unfit for market (e.g. pesticide residue). The use of non-invasive technique, NIRS in particular, for the assessment of such quality concerns, is examined within this research project.

Keywords: Fruit, maturity, quality, Dry matter, Pesticide residue, pigmentation, acidity
Timeline: March 2015

Project Contacts

Name: Prof. Kerry Walsh
Contact Research Organisation: Institute for Resource Industries and Sustainability
Phone: 049309707
Email: k.walsh@cqu.edu.au