Mango quality prediction based on near-infrared spectroscopy using multi-predictor local polynomial regression modeling

Background: pH and total soluble solids (TSS) are important quality parameters of mangoes; they represent the acidity and sweetness of the fruit, respectively. This study predicts the pH and TSS of intact mangoes based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy using multi-predictor local polynomial regression (MLPR) modeling. Herein, the prediction performance of kernel partial least square regression (KPLSR), support vector machine regression (SVMR), and MLPR is compared. Methods: For this purpose, 186 intact mango samples at three different maturity stages are used. Prediction models are built using MLPR, KPLSR, and SVMR based on untreated and treated spectra. The best regression model for predicting pH is MLPR based on Gaussian filter smoothing spectra. Moreover, the TSS value is more accurately predicted using MLPR based on Savitzky–Golay smoothing. Results: The findings reveal that MLPR is highly accurate in estimating the pH and TSS of mangoes, with mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values less than 10 %. In addition, the MLPR model has the best predictive performance with the lowest Mean Squared error (MSE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) values and the highest R 2 value. Conclusions: The use of NIR spectroscopy in combination with multi-predictor local polynomial regression could provide a quick and non-destructive technique for predicting mango quality. Thus, the results of this study help support sustainable production as a sustainable development goal.