Non-destructive Assessment of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Maturity and Firmness Based on Mechanical Vibration Response

Storage potential and eating quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit depend on its maturity. Segregation of guava according to maturity and firmness measured using non-destructive technologies would help the industry to designate ripe fruit to immediate market and less ripe fruit for distant market (e.g., exportation). This research was conducted to evaluate the potential of experimental resonant frequency (fe) and elasticity index (EI) to estimate fruit firmness, which has been reported to be inversely correlated to its maturity. A maturity index (Im) was calculated as the ratio of total soluble solids/titratable acidity (TSS/TA). It was proved that TSS, TA, and Im were significantly correlated (P < 0.05) to skin firmness (Fs), flesh firmness (Ff), stiffness (S), and analytical resonant frequency (ωn), being S the attribute best fitted to Im (R2 = 0.77). Since it was observed that fe and EI were sensitive to changes in fruit firmness, both of them were explored as alternatives to predict Fs, Ff, S, and ωn of guava fruit. In some cases, EI improved the models to predict guava firmness traits (e.g., Fs vs fe had a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.58, whereas for Fs vs EI, it was R2 = 0.62). The best model occurred when plotting ωn vs fe (R2 = 0.86), followed by S vs EI (R2 = 0.84), making these promising features for the development of a new practical application using frequency response measurement as a non-destructive method to assess guava maturity.

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