Does consumer-scale near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy provide opportunities for kiwifruit quality measurement?

In recent years, low-cost near-infrared (NIR) devices have been developed that aim to be disseminated to the wider public, enabling a potential future for widespread data capture like never before. Beyond the cheap cost, features of the technology include high portability, enabling measurement anywhere and anytime, and the linkage of data captured to cloud databases and analytics, meaning that rapid diagnostic information can be displayed on an easily available cellular phone. Data that may be useful to determine from kiwifruit by producers through to consumers may be flesh firmness (FF), dry matter concentration (DMC) and total soluble solids (TSS, sweetness). In this work, one such consumer-scale NIR device, the SCiO™ molecular sensor developed by Consumer Physics, was independently assessed for its ability to provide this potentially useful information. Models were created to identify properties of the fruit of a known cultivar. Data were captured from 'SunGold™' kiwifruit from a range of maturities and ripening stages. The sensor showed potential in quantitative prediction of TSS (R²=0.85; RMSE=1.0 °Brix for validation) and identifying high-DMC fruit (84% accuracy).