This Operational Group (OG) focuses its action in the fruit growing sector to execute the Project entitled “Automatic classification of peach and nectarine according to maturity stage using non-destructive NIR technology”. This GO is made up of BARÓ E HIJOS SL, FRUITS DE PONENT SCCL and INSTITUT DE RECERCA I TECNOLOGIA AGROALIMENTÀRIES (IRTA), together with the collaboration of MAF RODA. The objective of this GO is to obtain a tool to be able to classify fruits in a non-destructive way according to their state of maturity. This classification is carried out using an online NIR system designed for MAF RODA. The performance of NIR models for different instrumental parameters (firmness, sugars, acidity and chlorophyll) has been evaluated according to different types of sampling (species, type of fruit, variety) and the parameters with the greatest potential for peach classification have been identified. at the industrial level. Finally, the system has been implemented in BARÓ E HIJOS and GRUP COOPERATIU FRUTS DE PONENT.
The general objective of the project is to classify peaches online in a non-destructive way with NIR technology to obtain different categories depending on their state of ripeness in order to obtain a tool to decide the destination of the fruit (the ripest fruits will go to short-haul markets and the less mature to long-haul markets).
The first year of the project (2019) the performance of a reflectance NIR system was evaluated to measure different instrumental quality parameters of peaches (firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity and chlorophyll content) with the aim of identifying the parameters with greater potential to be candidates to be used at an industrial level. The NIR measurements and the reference analyzes were carried out at the IRTA Fruitcentre (Lleida).
In the second year of the project (2020), a transmittance NIR system was installed on the screed line of the Fruits de Ponent power plant. The performance of this system to measure the instrumental parameters identified in the previous phase (firmness, soluble solids content, and chlorophyll content) was evaluated under real conditions.
In the third year of the project (2021), the same Fruits de Ponent transmittance NIR system was installed in one of the fruit calcification lines at the Baró e Hijos plant. The implementation of a procedure for the creation of calibration and validation models to measure the chlorophyll index and brix degrees using the NIR system installed in the plant has been validated under real conditions.
Final results
NIR spectroscopy for transmittance was found to be more efficient than NIR spectroscopy for reflectance in measuring fruit quality parameters. In the case of transmittance, the light interacts by going through the fruit in its entirety, which allows obtaining more precise results of the state of the fruit as a whole. On the contrary, in the measurements by reflectance, the light interacts with a superficial point of the fruit.
Of the instrumental quality and ripening parameters analyzed (firmness, brix degrees, acidity, chlorophyll index), the chlorophyll index and brix degrees have been the ones that have shown the most robust NIR calibration models for industrial use. The measurement of these two parameters provides information from two aspects: the chlorophyll index allows knowing the level of ripening of the fruit and the degrees brix the organoleptic quality.
CONCLUSIONS
Online classification of peaches according to their state of ripeness with NIR systems is possible thanks to the measurement of the chlorophyll index. In general, fruits with higher values tend to deteriorate earlier and, therefore, have a lower conservation potential. Their interpretation or tolerance thresholds may vary depending on the type of fruit and/or the variety. NIR calibration models for the measurement of the chlorophyll index are usually more robust than models for other instrumental parameters, such as degrees brix or firmness. In addition, the chlorophyll index provides other advantages that facilitate its implementation in the quality processes of the plants. However, as in any other application of online NIR technology, to guarantee reliable results, the implementation of systematic procedures for the development and validation of calibration models is required.
BUDGET:
PROJECT DATES
TOTAL BUDGET
Start date: July 2019
Total budget: €207,126.76
End date: September 2021
DARP funding: €84,648.41
Current status: Executed
EU funding: €63,857.57
Own financing: €58,620.78
With funding from:
Project financed through Operation 16.01.01 (Cooperation for Innovation) through the Catalan Rural Development Program 2014-2020.
Order ARP / 133/2017, of June 21, which approves the regulatory bases of aid for cooperation for innovation through the promotion of the creation of operational groups of the European Association for innovation in productivity and agricultural sustainability and the implementation of innovative pilot projects by these groups, and Resolution ARP/1282/2018, of June 8, which calls for the aforementioned aid.
