Sensors for Ripeness Measurement of Fruits and Vegetables

There is need to optimized or develop non-destructive (ND) sensors for ripeness measurement of fruits and vegetables to minimize post-harvest losses. This chapter provides details of such ND sensors for ripeness measurement of fruits and vegetables. ND sensors have been categorized in this chapter for firmness, color, and ethylene measurement as per their importance in ripeness measurement studies carried out by researchers in different fruits and vegetables. There is a need of ND methods to detect maturity indices and ripening on continuous grading-sorting lines. The development of ND sensors for ripening measurement can be the best alternative to ensure rapid application and have reliable results about the ripening stages of fruits and vegetables. ND impact test apparatus was developed by Lien et al. for assessment of tomato maturity. Interests in using natural frequencies or impulse-response techniques of fruits for correlating with firmness begin after the introduction of ND acoustic impulse-response.