Non-destructive Measurement of Lycopene Content in High Soluble Solids Stored Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum Mill. cv Rinka 409)

Abstract

High-quality fruits can be produced by controlling the environmental factors, i.e. temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, and light intensity. The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) variety ‘Rinka 409’, was grown hydroponically with a high-wire system in high technology greenhouse, Ehime University, Japan. The water stress treatment using visual monitoring system was used to produce the high soluble solids tomato fruits. Moreover, a high lycopene content of tomato can be produced by controlling the storage condition. Non-destructive measurement has been known to provide a fast and accurate quality measurement of fruits and vegetables. The objectives of this study were to develop a precise position for the non-destructive measurement of the lycopene content in high soluble solids stored tomato using Vis/NIR spectroscopy and evaluate its performance. In this study, the high soluble solids of tomato fruits were grown under water stress treatment and stored after harvesting at 25°C in a cool incubator for 7 days. The tomato spectra were measured using Vis/NIR spectroscopy with the wavelength 500-1010 nm. The estimation of the lycopene content was based on the statistical model using multivariate analysis. From this study, it is concluded that the measurement of lycopene content in high soluble solids of tomato fruits after storage by using the top part of the tomato, was better than if it is compared to the side part. It was best determined using PLS analysis with Visible/Near-infrared Spectroscopy non-destructively, with the R 0.98 and RMSE 0.80.