The objective of this study was to use dry matter (DM) calibration models to sort ‘Palmer’ mangoes prior cold storage and to evaluate the physiological and chemical changes during the storage period. PLS model developed with fruit from 2015/2016 season was not adequate to predict DM content in fruit from 2016/2017 (not adjusted R2). Therefore, VIS‐NIR spectra from 2016/2017 season were incorporated into data set and a new model was developed (RMSEcv of 10.5 g.kg−1, RnormalP2 of 0.75). With the new model, ‘Palmer’ mangoes were sorted into two maturity stages (150 g.kg−1 and 110 g.kg−1) which resulted in quality differences mainly in relation to DM and SSC. Portable VIS‐NIR spectrometer can be used to sort fruit according to maturity stages based on DM content and this classification affect fruit quality during cold storage as fruit with higher DM (150 g.kg−1) presented better quality than fruit with lower DM (110 g.kg−1). Practical applications Although results can be found regarding the use of portable NIR spectrometers to estimate maturity in mango fruit, there are no studies stating the use of this method to sort fruit prior cold storage. Our results highlight that portable VIS‐NIR spectrometer can be used to sort fruit according to maturity stages based on dry matter (DM) content and this classification affects fruit quality during cold storage as fruit with higher DM (150 g.kg−1) presented better quality than fruit with lower DM (110 g.kg−1) at the end of the storage period.

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