Non-destructive assessment of flesh firmness and dietary antioxidants of greenhouse-grown tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) at different fruit maturity stages

Abstract

Non-destructive methods have been widely recognized for evaluating fruit quality traits of many horticultural crops and food processing industry. Destructive (analytical) test, and non-destructive evaluation of the quality traits were investigated and compared for ‘Red Rose’ tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit grown under protected environment. Fresh tomato fruit at five distinctive maturity stages namely; breaker (BK), turning (TG), pink (PK), light-red (LR), and red (RD) were labeled and scanned using the handheld near infra-red (NIR) enhanced spectrometer at a wavelength range of 285–1200 nm. The labeled tomato samples were then measured analytically for flesh firmness, lycopene, β-carotene, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC). The results revealed that quality traits could be estimated using NIR spectroscopy with a relatively high coefficient of determination (R 2 ): 0.834 for total phenolic content, 0.864 for lycopene, 0.790 for total flavonoid content, 0.708 for β-carotene; and 0.679 for flesh firmness. The accumulation of Lyco and β-Car rapidly increased in tomatoes harvested between the TG and the LR maturity stages. Harvesting tomatoes at BK maturity stage resulted in significantly higher flesh firmness than harvesting at the later maturity stages. Tomato fruits had the lowest TPC and TFC contents at the earliest maturity stage (BK), while they had intermediate TPC and TFC levels at LR and RD maturity stages. NIR spectroscopic measurements of fruit firmness and lipophilic antioxidants in tomato fruit at various maturity stages were partially in accordance with those estimated by destructive (analytical) methods. Based on these findings, we recommend using non-destructive NIR spectroscopy as an effective tool for predicting tomato fruit quality during harvest stage and postharvest processing.

Synthesis and Characterization of a Mixed Nanofertilizer Influencing the Nutrient Use Efficiency, Productivity, and Nutritive Value of Tomato Fruits

“…These compounds have high antioxidant activity and are then beneficial to human health . Aside from its nutritional value, it is the second most commercially consumed vegetable after potatoes . The overall recommended fertilizer for crop production was 184 metric tons in 2015; however, it has been expected to exceed 200 MT by 2020 .…”

“…1 Aside from its nutritional value, it is the second most commercially consumed vegetable after potatoes. 2 The overall recommended fertilizer for crop production was 184 metric tons in 2015; however, it has been expected to exceed 200 MT by 2020. 3 This was to increase the global agricultural crop production by 70% for supporting the rapid growth of the world population by 2050.…”

Mixed Nanocomposite Fertilizers Influencing Endophytic Symbiosis and Nutritional and Antioxidant Properties of Oryza sativa as a Sustainable Alternative for Commercial Fertilizers

“…The TPC and TTC results were, respectively, expressed as milligrams of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and milligrams of tannic acid equivalent (TAE) per 100 g of paddy sample. In addition, the TF content (TFC) was also measured following the method previously reported by Alenazi et al, 32 with a slight modification. The TFC of the extracts (mg QE/100 g) was estimated by comparing their concentration against the standard curve.…”

Near infrared spectroscopy determination of chemical and sensory properties in tomato

“…[7][8][9] NIR spectroscopy has been applied directly on intact tomatoes to discriminate between varieties, 10,11 determine ripening stages, 12,13 quantify color, [14][15][16] and measure physical properties [17][18][19] and chemical parameters such as DM, SSC, total sugars, glucose, fructose, ethylene, lycopene, pH, TA, citric acid, and malic acid. 14,15,17,18,[20][21][22][23][24] NIR spectroscopy minimizes sample preparations, enabling rapid quality control by aiding decision making in the field and/or during fruit processing.…”