Nondestructive measurement of peel gloss and roughness to determine tomato fruit ripening and chilling injury

Mature-green tomatoes showed a gradual decrease in peel gloss during ripening at 20°C. Gloss correlated well with parameters such as a* values and °Brix and could possibly serve as criteria for ripeness. When stored at 2°C for 7, 14 or 21 days and then allowed to ripen at 20°C, fluctuations in gloss during ripening were observed. Peel roughness increased as a result of chilling, but did not appear to be related to time elapsed at the chilling temperature and no changes were observed on subsequent ripening. Pink tomatoes showed fluctuations in gloss similar to mature-green fruit. Chilling had no influence on roughness of pink tomatoes.