Abstract

CARVAJAL HERRERA, José Jaime; ARISTIZABAL TORRES, Iván Darío; OLIVEROS TASCON, Carlos Eugenio  and  MEJIA MONTOYA, Jhon Wilson. Coffee Fruit (Coffea arabica L.) Colorimetry During its Development and Maturation. Rev. Fac. Nac. Agron. Medellín [online]. 2011, vol.64, n.2, pp.6229-6240. ISSN 0304-2847.

Obtain coffee fruit color standards during its development and maturation for different processes related to the harvest and postharvest from this product is necessary. The Coordinates L*, a*, b*, C* and h* in the CIELab color representation and visible spectrum reflectance (400-700 nm) were measured on three different points of the epicarp of coffee fruits (Coffea arabica var. Colombia). The readings were taken every seven days since 182 to 238 days after anthesis (DAA), using a sphere spectrophotometer, with the objective of determining the fruit color for different development stages. The results indicate that fruits of different days of growth display color differences defined by luminosity, chromatic coordinates and the amount of light reflected by the epicarp according to the analyzed region of the visible spectrum . Through the chromatic coordinates a* and h* and from several reflected luminous wavelengths can be differentiated fruits of 31, 32, 33 and 34 weeks of development. The chroma b* doesn't allow to differentiate undermature and mature fruits. The saturation C* can discriminate some stages of development but it doesn't allow to establish differences among immature stages. The wavelengths of 520, 570 and 580 nm allow significantly discriminations of nine different stages of the fruit development. The coffee colorimetry knowledge may be used for design of harvesting and post-harvesting sorting systems, and for discrimination among different stages of the fruit development, which are related to the quality of coffee beverage and with productivity.

Keywords : Color; reflectance; luminosity; chromaticity coordinates.

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