Non-invasive determination of the quality of pomegranate fruit

During the three weeks storage, the luster values of red or yellow, non-russet peel sections decreased more rapidly from 90 to 50 arbitrary units (a.u.) than those of the russet peel; the latter areas with a rough appearance showed significantly lower luster values of ca. 40 a.u. compared with the russet-devoid areas. Luster and roughness values were always inversely correlated and confirmed their visual appearance. The lack of significant differences between the luster values of the red and yellow peel portions supports our hypothesis that colour plays an insignificant role in this luster/gloss detection, and proves the suitability of this innovative real-time, contactless and cost-effective sensor technology as a novel evaluation used in post-harvest technology.