ISLAMABAD: Pakistani farmers and dealers can save fruits and vegetables from going to waste by using a locally produced device to determine optimal harvest timing and assess their quality in packing houses, WealthPK reports.
Harvesting fruit and vegetables at an appropriate time is vital to ensure their high quality and long shelf life. About 35% of fruits and vegetables are destroyed in Pakistan in the process of harvesting and storage. However, the newly-produced ‘fruit maturity device’ can be helpful to save fruits and vegetables from being destroyed.
Dr Shahzad Younis, Director of the Smart Agri Tech Research Centre and Adaptive Signal Processing Group at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), told WealthPK that his team has developed a fruit maturity meter to determine optimal harvest timing and objectively assess fruit quality in packing houses.
He said that the device would help in efficient yield management. “This device is lightweight, portable and can be used in cold storage and ripening rooms to assist in managing the pre and post-harvest quality of fruits and vegetables,” he added.
Explaining the working and features of the device, Dr Shahzad said that it uses Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for estimating fruit quality without destroying crop samples and plucking. These estimates include dry matter, total Soluble Solids (TSS or Brix) and titratable acidity.
He said that NIR spectroscopy is an analytical method that employs a source emitting light of a known wavelength pattern (often 800 to 2500nm) to provide a comprehensive image of the organic makeup of the substance/material being analysed.
“In addition, this device helps in the classification of fruits and vegetables according to their size, shape, maturity or ripeness. It can identify exterior features such as deformation and discoloration as well as inside flaws such as internal browning, internal bruising, frost damage and insect infestation for the storage of fruits and vegetables,” said Dr Shahzad.
Once the fruit and vegetables are picked, they undergo respiration throughout storage, resulting in changes in their physical and chemical qualities. To measure the chemical properties of fruit and vegetables, this device also evaluates factors for precise chemical analysis of fruit and vegetable such as dry matter and total soluble solids (TSS or Brix).
“Total dissolved solids (TSS) are an essential fruit quality metric. It is an indicator that how much soluble solids are present in a liquid. TSS value impacts the flavour of fruit since it indicates the sweetness of the fruit. The total sugar content and a minor amount of soluble proteins, amino acids, and other organic components dominate TSS,” he said.
Dr Shahzad said that in general, total soluble solids are determined by using a destructive approach, which necessitates laboratory testing and destroyed the fruit. “Typically, a refractometer is used to conduct destructive TSS measurements. The liquid fruit extract is dripped over the detector to conduct the measurement,” he added.
It can be expressed as a ratio between the speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light through the sample. Light travels through a solution at a slower pace the more TSS it contains and the more concentrated the solution. However, fruit quality evaluation using such methods results in damage to the fruit and the inability to commercialise it.
Measuring fruit ripeness with the help of this device is rapid and non-destructive. The device works on the technique of Near-infrared spectroscopy.
The device gadget measures the titratable acidity in citrus fruits. Titratable acidity is a crucial factor in determining fruit ripeness and sour flavour. The fruit’s ripeness is one of the most critical elements in determining its ability to preserve its flavour.
“Generally, immature fruits have a lower sugar-to-acid ratio than mature fruit, which will have a higher sugar-to-acid percentage. “It is essential to use technology to preserve qualitative characteristics of fruits and vegetables, enhance product marketability and extend their storage duration and shelf life. The fruit maturity device can accurately and efficiently determine the ripening stage of fruits and classify them into homogenous groups for storage,” Dr Shahzad told WealthPK.
