Nondestructive Detection of Section Drying, an Internal Disorder in Tangerine

Near infrared (NIR) absorption spectrometry and X-ray computed tomography (CT) were used to nondestructively determine the presence of section drying, an internal disorder in tangerines ( Citrus reticulata Blanco, cv. Dancy). X-ray CT scan images clearly differentiated areas with section drying from healthy sections of the fruit. Delineation was due to differences in X-ray absorption resulting from lower tissue density and water content in vesicles having the disorder. Second derivative NIR optical density values at 768 and 960 nm correlated strongly with the presence or absence of section drying, indicating that NIR optical properties of vesicles with section drying differed from those without the disorder. These results suggest that, compared with X-ray—based techniques, NIR absorption spectroscopy could be a less expensive, safe, and rapid method for the nondestructive sensing of section drying in citrus fruit.