Non-Destructive Method to Evaluate The Relationship Between Skin Color and Quality Characteristic of Avocado (Persea americana Mill.)

Abstract

Color analysis can be used to determine the quality characteristic and the level of maturity of agricultural products, including avocados. Avocado ‘Mentega’ with three different levels of maturity A1: less than 80%, A2: 80-85%, and A3: levels of maturity more than 85% were collected from Bandungan, Indonesia. The avocado characteristic was conducted with 33 samples for each maturity level with a weight of approximately 366±16 g. The mass and dimensional loss (%), color properties (L*a*b*), and firmness (kg.mm-2) were evaluated. The results showed significant effects of maturity level on mass loss, firmness, and color properties (L* and a*). Storage for 10 days at room temperature for sample A3 (maturity level more than 85%) showed the highest mass loss (4.77±2.31%), dimensional loss (114.36±7.83% for length and 22.79±15.78% for width), and the lowest value of firmness (0.46±0.31 kg.mm-2). The relationship between skin color and quality characteristic of avocado ‘Mentega’ was developed using the data of fruit firmness and avocado maturity index (AMI) by the formula F = -0.1116x-0.9692; MAPE = 21.74%. The actual and estimation data of firmness show that the model is fitted to describe the actual fruit firmness under the same experimental conditions.