Abstract

The dry matter is one of the main quality parameters of raw and processed potatoes. In the present study, the potential of utilizing high throughput commercially available NIR interactance systems for dry matter determination in whole unpeeled potato tubers is investigated. The performance of a 2D NIR interactance instrument was compared with that of a 1D NIR interactance instrument and a traditional underwater weight apparatus. A total of 114 tubers were assessed individually with both of the NIR instruments (760-1040 nm), the underwater weight and an external reference method (freeze drying). The 1D interactance instrument obtained better prediction results than what the 2D instrument could achieve (R²=0.95, RMSECV=0.91, and R²=0.83, RMSECV=1.65, respectively). The underwater weight obtained the highest explained variance (R²=0.97), but the estimation was biased by approximately 1.5% (by weight). The poorer prediction performance of the 2D NIR interactance system can be partly explained by the lower penetration depths of the light compared to the 1D NIR interactance systems.

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