Near-Infrared Spectroscopy as a classification tool for agraz (Vaccinium meridionale Swartz)

The importance of the selection and classification processes in the industry of agricultural products and the increase in the production of fruits make necessary the development and implementation of new techniques to efficiently perform these tasks. Techniques such as NIR spectroscopy have proved to have potential to accomplish this purpose. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of near infrared spectroscopy as a classification tool for agraz (Vaccinium meridionale Swartz), according to its state of maturity. In order to obtain the classification models, the PCA and SIMCA methods were used. Results were obtained close to 100% accuracy in the classification for maturity stages 4 and 5 and between 81 and 90% for maturity stage 3. The NIR spectroscopy appears as a suitable technique for the classification of fruits of agraz according to their state of maturity.