Non-destructive Evaluation of Tongar Avocado Maturity Based on Thermal Imaging

This study aimed to non-destructively identify the maturity level of Tongar avocado fruit using thermal imaging method. Thermal images of Tongar avocados at four maturity stages, based on harvest times of 150, 180, 210, and 240 days after flowering (DAF), were captured using a FLIR C3-X thermal camera. The images were then processed using software developed in MATLAB to extract hue, saturation, intensity (HSI) values and surface temperature. The results showed that changes in fruit skin color values (HSI) were observed; however, these differences were not consistently significant across all maturity stages. There were significant differences in surface temperature across maturity stages. These results indicate that color parameters cannot serve as dependable indicators, while surface temperature can be used as quantitative indicators in determining Tongar avocado maturity. Thermal imaging has great potential as a non-destructive method for accurate and efficient classification and prediction of avocado maturity.