Development of a farmer-friendly portable color sorter cum grader for tomatoes
P. Rajkumar
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation
Search for more papers by this authorK. Abinaya
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Writing - original draft
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Deepa
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Methodology, Validation, Writing - original draft
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
R. Pandiselvam
Division of Physiology, Biochemistry and Post-Harvest Technology, ICAR – Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala, 671 124 India
Correspondence
R. Pandiselvam, Division of Physiology, Biochemistry and Post-Harvest Technology, ICAR – Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod 671124, Kerala, India.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Resources, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorC. Indu Rani
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Methodology, Validation, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorS. Parveen
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Methodology, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization
Search for more papers by this authorP. Rajkumar
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation
Search for more papers by this authorK. Abinaya
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Writing - original draft
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Deepa
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Methodology, Validation, Writing - original draft
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
R. Pandiselvam
Division of Physiology, Biochemistry and Post-Harvest Technology, ICAR – Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala, 671 124 India
Correspondence
R. Pandiselvam, Division of Physiology, Biochemistry and Post-Harvest Technology, ICAR – Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod 671124, Kerala, India.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Resources, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorC. Indu Rani
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Methodology, Validation, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorS. Parveen
Department of Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003 India
Contribution: Methodology, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a major horticulture crop grown worldwide. The ripened tomatoes are excellent source of antioxidants. On the other hand, the transportation of ripened tomatoes to long distances is a challenging task. However, the unripe tomatoes are opted for long-distance transportation because of their extended shelf-life. A sensor was developed with an efficient color sorting program using integrated circuits along with a divergent rolling grader. The developed color sorter cum size grader works on the principle of energetic reflection based on measuring the intensity of light and it comprises feed hopper, chain conveyor, belt conveyor, three color sensor (TCS3200), collecting ducts, inlet hopper, grader, outlet section, and collecting trays. Developed machine was operated by a single-phase 2 hp motor. The performance of the developed machine was analyzed by measuring capacity, sorting efficiency, overall grading efficiency, and skin damage. Based on the performance evaluation, the maximum sorting efficiency and overall grading efficiency obtained were 94.5% and 94.1, 94.1, and 94.6% for ripe and unripe fruits, respectively.
Practical Applications
Tomato is one of the important commodities, fetching highly fluctuating market values. Color sorting and size grading are very much needed at the field level to overcome human drudgery and to enhance the market value. In this context, a portable color sensor cum grader has been developed, which can be used by the farmers/traders to get higher prices in the market. The capacity of newly developed equipment was approximately 40 kg/hr. The cost of operation of color sorting cum grading equipment was Rs. 3/kg of tomatoes.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declared no potential conflict of interest.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
All the data are presented in the article.
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