Networking system employing near infrared spectroscopy for sugarcane payment in Japan

A cane quality evaluation system using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for determining payments to growers was developed and introduced to raw sugar mills in southern Japan. The evaluation system consists of a cutter grinder for sample preparation, an NIR instrument and a networking system. We investigated a calibration model for the determination of sugar index [Pol in cane, (PIC)] for shredded cane samples using a modified partial least squares regression with and without a repeatability file. The accuracy of the model developed using the repeatability file was adequate [root-mean square error of prediction, (RMSEP) = 0.30%] and the pooled standard error (P-SE) between master and eight slave instruments was 0.14%. In contrast, calibration models without a repeat ability file incurred large P-SE and pooled bias (P-bias) values, although the RMSEP values were very similar to the repeatability file model in cases using the first derivative and standard normal variate (SNV) spectral pre-treatment. The eval...