Monitoring mature tomato (red stage) quality during storage using ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence image

• Published in: Postharvest biology and technology Vol. 160; p. 111031
• Main Authors: Konagaya, Keiji, Al Riza, Dimas Firmanda, Nie, Sen, Yoneda, Minori, Hirata, Takuya, Takahashi, Noriko, Kuramoto, Makoto, Ogawa, Yuichi, Suzuki, Tetsuhito, Kondo, Naoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Color; Color image; Color imagery; Degradation; Fluorescence; Fluorescence image; G ratio; Image processing; Image quality; Monitoring; RGB ratio; Saturation (color); Solanumlycopersicum; Storage; Tomatoes; Transportation; Ultraviolet radiation; RGB ratio; Storage; Solanumlycopersicum; Fluorescence image; Color image
• ISSN: 0925-5214; 1873-2356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2019.111031

•Tomato quality degrades after the red stage, and time after the harvest is important.•Fluorescence images were tested to monitor quality degradation nondestructively.•Fluorescence images were effective to monitor tomato storage continuously.•This approach can be used to monitor tomatoes under a nonideal temperature regime. The potential of UV-induced fluorescence imaging was investigated as a non-destructive tool to monitor postharvest quality degradation of tomatoes harvested at the red stage and stored at 25 °C. The fluorescence images (excitation at 365 nm) were found to be a better indicator of tomato quality degradation than color images after color saturation. Tomatoes were stored at 25 °C for 9 d. The changes in color and fluorescence of tomato were evaluated by two types of images: Color and fluorescence images. A conventional colorimeter was also used for as a reference. Changes in the RGB ratio for these two types of images were opposite. In the color images, the G ratio decreased rapidly for the initial 3 or 5 d and then stabilized afterwards. On the other hand, in the fluorescence images, the G ratio increased continuously up to 9 d. Given that temperature conditions during transportation and storage of tomatoes is not always ideal, the results from this research provide the foundation for developing a postharvest monitoring system of mature tomato quality degradation.