Assessment of tomato ripeness using chlorophyll fluorescence

Abstract

The ripeness of tomatoes has a direct impact on their quality. This study aimed to develop mathematical models to determine and monitor tomato ripeness based on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. Three varieties of tomatoes (Alkazar, Lezginka, and Rosanchik) with five ripening stages (green, breaker, pink, light red, and red) were examined using chlorophyll fluorescence analysis. Chlorophyll fluorescence variables (Variable-Fv, maximum-Fm, initial-F0, and Fv/Fm ratio) were assessed at five stages of maturation. Five mathematical models were proposed for each tomato variety examined to determine the relationship between chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and ripening stages. The experimental results revealed that tomato maturity could be determined using chlorophyll fluorescence. It was found that as the tomato fruits ripened, the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, such as Fv, Fv/Fm, Fm, and F0, gradually decreased. The proposed models allowed estimation of the ripening stage of all three tomato varieties. The highest R2 (0.99) was obtained using chlorophyll fluorescence parameters together.