Non-invasive assessment of avocado quality attributes

Avocado fruit maturity and quality characteristics are often variable resulting in variation within a shipment in ripening rates, shelf-life and quality. Inferior fruit quality is seen as one of the key factors impacting on supply chain efficiency and profitability (Margetts 2009). Consumer surveys show that only 30% of Australian’s eat avocados and that they expect to discard one in every four pieces of fruit they purchase because of poor internal quality (Avocados Australia Limited and Primary Business Solutions 2005). Surveys reveal that consumers prefer avocado fruit with at least 25% dry matter (DM) (Harker et al. 2007) and select bruising as the major defect, followed by rots (Harker 2009). Research has shown that if a consumer is dissatisfied with fruit quality then that consumer will not purchase that commodity for another 6 weeks (Embry 2009). To expand domestic and international sales the industry must be able to supply the discerning and demanding consumer with a consistent high quality product. Therefore a rapid non-destructive system that can accurately and rapidly monitor avocado quality attributes would allow the industry to provide better, more consistent eating quality fruit to the consumer, thus improving industry competitiveness and profitability. This paper presents the current research findings of developing a non-invasive near infrared spectroscopy assessment tool which uses optical light for detecting bruises and for predicting both avocado DM content and rot susceptibility as an indication of shelf-life.