Quality Parameters of Six Cultivars of Blueberry Using Computer Vision

Abstract EN

Background.

Blueberries are considered an important source of health benefits.

This work studied six blueberry cultivars: “Duke,” “Brigitta”, “Elliott”, “Centurion”, “Star,” and “Jewel”, measuring quality parameters such as °Brix, pH, moisture content using standard techniques and shape, color, and fungal presence obtained by computer vision.

The storage conditions were time (0–21 days), temperature (4 and 15°C), and relative humidity (75 and 90%).

Results.

Significant differences (P<0.05) were detected between fresh cultivars in pH, °Brix, shape, and color.

However, the main parameters which changed depending on storage conditions, increasing at higher temperature, were color (from blue to red) and fungal presence (from 0 to 15%), both detected using computer vision, which is important to determine a shelf life of 14 days for all cultivars.

Similar behavior during storage was obtained for all cultivars.

Conclusion.

Computer vision proved to be a reliable and simple method to objectively determine blueberry decay during storage that can be used as an alternative approach to currently used subjective measurements.