Some Physical Properties and Mass Modelling of Pepper Berries (Piper nigrum L.), Variety Kuching, at Different Maturity Levels

Abstract

Pepper berry (Piper nigrum L.) is known as the king of spices and has sharp, pungent flavour and aroma. In this study, the physical properties (weight, dimensions, sphericity, volume, surface area, and projected area) were measured, and the mass of pepper berries of the Kuching variety at different maturity levels (immature, mature, and ripe) was predicted using four models: linear, quadratic, s-curve, and power. When the models were based on volume and projected area, the mass could be predicted with maximum precision. The Quadratic model was best fitted for mass prediction at all mass maturity levels (immature, mature, and ripe). The results showed that mass modelling based on the actual volume of pepper berries was more applicable compared to other properties with the highest determination coefficient, 0.995, at the 1% probability level. From an economical point of view, mass prediction based on actual volume in the Quadratic form, M= 0.828 − 0.015 V + 7.376 ×10−5V2, is recommended. The findings of physical properties and mass modelling of the berries would be useful to the scientific knowledge base, which may help in developing grading, handling, and packaging systems.

Mass modeling of strawberry (Fragaria × Ananasa) based on selected physical attributes

“…The actual volume (V) of the fruit was determined by using the water displacement method (Akar & Aydin, 2005). The geometric mean diameter (GMD), sphericity (ϕ), and aspect ratio (AR) were determined by using the following equations used by Megat Ahmad Azman et al (2020). The projected area of a single fruit is a good indicator of mass.…”

“…The projected areas of strawberries in three perpendicular dimensions viz., PA L , projected area perpendicular to the length (mm 2 ); PA W , projected area perpendicular to the width (mm 2 ); PA T , projected area perpendicular to the thickness (mm 2 ), were measured by using a camera and Fiji ImageJ. The criteria projected area (CPA) was determined by using the Equation (4) used by Megat Ahmad Azman et al (2020). …”

“…Several studies reported the prediction of mass using the physical attributes of different fruits, including apples (Tabatabaeefar & Rajabipour, 2005), onions (Ghabel, Rajabipour, Ghasemi‐Varnamkhasti, & Oveisi, 2010), oranges (Tabatabaeefar, Vefagh‐Nematolahee, & Rajabipour, 2000), pomegranates (Khoshnam, Tabatabaeefar, Varnamkhasti, & Borghei, 2007), kinnow mandarin (Mahawar, Bibwe, Jalgaonkar, & Ghodki, 2019), banana (A'Bidin, Shamsudin, Basri, & Dom, 2020), pepper berries (Megat Ahmad Azman, Shamsudin, Che Man, & Ya'acob, 2020), belleric myrobalan (Pathak, Pradhan, & Mishra, 2020), kendu (Panda, Vivek, & Mishra, 2020), Indian coffee plum (Barbhuiya, Nath, Singh, & Dwivedi, 2020) and dates (Khodabakhshian & Emadi, 2016). There is no detailed study regarding the mass modeling of strawberries that has not been carried out in detail in the literature.…”

Special Issue “Advances in Postharvest Process Systems”

“…Azman et al [10] studies the physical properties and mass modeling of pepper berries at different maturity levels. It was found that the quadratic model was best fitted for mass prediction at all mass maturity levels (immature, mature, and ripe).…”

“…This special issue consists of three sections, focusing on food storage and preservation technologies [1][2][3][4], food processing technologies [5][6][7][8], and the applications of advanced mathematical modeling and computer simulations [9][10][11]. We wish to acknowledge the expert contributions of all authors here.…”