Visualization of sugar content in the flesh of a melon by near-infrared imaging.

The relationship between the sugar content and absorption spectra was investigated using a near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer to visualize the sugar content of a melon. The absorbance at 676 nm, which is close to the absorption band of chlorophyll, exhibited a strong inverse correlation with the sugar content. A high-resolution cooled charged couple device imaging camera fitted with a band-pass filter of 676 nm was used to capture the spectral absorption image. The calibration method used for converting the absorbance values on the image into the degrees Brix sugar content was developed in accordance with NIR spectroscopy techniques. When this method was applied to each pixel of the absorption image, a color distribution map of the sugar content was constructed.