We all hate buying bagged salad only to find brown edges on the lettuce. Fresh-cut lettuce sold in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a desirable but highly perishable product. Tissue decay can start a few days after processing and may be difficult to detect by quick visual observation.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist Ivan Simko and his collaborators have developed nondestructive imaging technologies—based on hyperspectral imaging and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging—that can detect decay in bagged cut lettuce. Simko is with the Crop Improvement and Protection Research Laboratory in Salinas, California, and his collaborators are with CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in Canberra, Australia. Their research was published in Postharvest Biology and Technology in April 2015.
The team developed a system for early detection of decay and evaluation of its progress, which is important both for the lettuce-processing industry and breeders to assess the quality of new cultivars and breeding lines.
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