Comparison of Instrumental Methods for Measuring Ripening Changes of Intact Tomato Fruit1

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Abstract
Instrumental methods evaluated for effectiveness in following color changes in ripening tomato fruit (Lxcopersicon esculentum Mill.) included a light-reflectance and 2 light-transmittance sample systems. Each system was tested with wavelength pairs of 500–595, 540–595, and 595–650 nm. Instrument methods, with appropriate photomultipliers, generally were more sensitive to color changes than were visual observations. The light-transmittance systems were also more sensitive to small changes than the light-reflectance system. However, with all systems, measurements at 595 650 nm were highly correlated with visual color ratings during ripening. Light-transmittance measurements at 540–595 nm were effective in detecting changes at an earlier ripening stage than either reflective or visual observations. Because of complex pigment changes, this measurement increased rapidly during initial ripening stages, and then decreased during later stages, making it more difficult to relate to visual color.

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