JPH02304352A - Method for deciding that maturity of gardening crops - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for determining the ripeness of horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, to non-destructively determine when garden crops such as fruits and vegetables are ripe for consumption, humans have relied on human intuition by examining their color, aroma, hardness, or sound.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, judgment based on human feeling not only requires skill, but also has large individual differences and lacks accuracy.

Therefore, it has been proposed to measure volatile combustible gases emitted from the surface of fruits and vegetables and use the measured values to determine when they are ready to eat without relying on human intuition. The entire period of increase and decrease of occurrence 1 due to changes in the ripeness of horticultural crops, such as aromatic component gases (because different generated gases are measured as the total amount of combustible gas, depending on the type of horticultural crops There was a risk that the ripeness would be incorrectly determined.

An object of the present invention is to enable anyone to accurately determine the ripeness of garden crops.

[Means to solve the problem]

As shown in Fig. 1, among the volatile gases emitted from the surface of garden crops such as fruits and vegetables, ethylene gas is known as a ripening hormone for fruits and vegetables. Before and after the amount of generation reaches its maximum value,
Generally, when garden crops are harvested, the amount of ethylene gas generated decreases as time passes, but as ripening progresses, ethylene gas is generated as a byproduct of ripening, reaches its maximum value again, and then decreases, eventually increasing as time passes. The increase and decrease are repeated.

On the other hand, the amount of aromatic component gas generated increases as ethylene gas decreases from the time of harvest, and then reaches the maximum value while drawing a gentle increasing curve. The method focuses on the fact that the best time to eat garden crops such as fruits and vegetables is when the amount of aromatic component gas generated increases, and the characteristic means of the first invention of the method for determining the best time to eat garden crops is Among the volatile gases emitted from the surface of garden crops, the concentration of aroma gas is measured, and whether the measured aroma gas concentration is within a preset range when the garden crops are not rotting. If the measured value is within a set range, it is determined that the food is ready to eat; on the other hand, if the measured value is not within the set range, it is determined that the food is not ready to eat.

Further, the characteristic means of the second invention is the determination method,
A sintered semiconductor containing tin oxide as a main component, a first component consisting of at least one kind of oxide of an alkaline earth element, and Sc
, Y, Ti, Zr.

The purpose of the present invention is to measure the concentration of an aromatic component gas using a semiconductor gas sensor carrying Hf, Th, klSGa, and a second component consisting of at least one type of oxide of a lanthanide group element.

And their effects are as follows.

[For production]

In other words, ethylene gas generated from horticultural crops is generally considered to play an important role as a maturation hormone, and in response to the generation of ethylene gas, the amount of respiration of horticultural crops increases rapidly. Metabolism progresses due to an increase in As a result, carbohydrates in garden crops are transformed into aromatic gases such as alcohols, aldehydes, and esters, and the amount of aromatic gases generated increases.

There is a certain period of ripeness during this period, and as metabolism progresses further, the production of aromatic gases and alcohol increases, eventually leading to spoilage.

Therefore, depending on the type of fruits and vegetables, the range of the aromatic component gas concentration at which the fruit or vegetable is ripe for eating is set in advance, and when the measured value is within the set range, it is determined that it is ripe for eating. If the value is higher than the set value, it is determined to be unripe, and if it is higher than the set value, it is determined to be overripe.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, anyone can accurately determine the ripeness of eating by simply measuring the concentration of the aromatic component gas generated from the surface of the gardening crop, without requiring any skill and regardless of individual differences.

In addition, by using the small and lightweight semiconductor gas sensor, it is possible to sample generated gas and measure it in real time on-site without using expensive and difficult-to-carry measuring equipment such as gas chromatographs. This has made it easier to manage the sale and sorting of garden crops such as fruits and vegetables.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Volatile gases are emitted from the surface of fruits such as melons, bananas, apples, yellowtails, and avocados, and garden crops such as vegetables. Among these volatile gases, ethylene gas, aromatic component gases, and There is a relative change in the concentration of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) generated, as shown in Figure 1, and in general, the appropriate time to eat (B) is reached after a certain number of days have passed after harvesting.
exists, and before the ripe period (B), there is an immature period (A),
Afterwards there is a superheating period (C).

Therefore, in order to determine the ripeness of these garden crops, the concentration of aromatic component gases is measured, and it is determined whether the measured value is within a preset setting range (E-D). If it is within the set range (E-D), it is determined that it is ready to eat; if it is below the set value, it is unripe and requires additional ripening; if it is above the set value, it is overripe. It is determined that the food is past its best time to eat.

Next, to measure the concentration of aroma component gases generated, esters other than ethylene gas among volatile combustible gases,
A semiconductor gas sensor is used that is sensitive to oxygen-containing organic compounds such as aldehydes and alcohols. This semiconductor type gas sensor includes a sintered semiconductor mainly composed of tin oxide, a first component consisting of at least one kind of oxide of an alkaline earth element,
Sc, Y, Ti, Zr, Hf5Th.

At least 4 oxides of A1, Ga and lanthanide elements
A second component consisting of:

As shown in Figure 2, the sensitivity of the semiconductor gas sensor is particularly sensitive to aromatic component gases such as esters, aldehydes, and alcohols, and has a sufficiently high selectivity with ethylene gas, so they coexist. Aromatic component gas can be measured without being affected by ethylene gas.

[Experimental Example 1] The concentration indication value of aroma component gas (odor component gas) by the semiconductor type gas sensor was measured under the same environmental conditions for the gas generated from bananas of various ages, and the samples were sampled each time to determine when they were ready to eat. The results are shown in the table below.

From the above measurement results, the aromatic component gas concentration indication value when a banana is ripe for eating is 300 to 450.

[Experimental Example 2] Using the semiconductor gas sensor, the concentration of aromatic gas emitted from the skin surface of melons of different degrees of ripeness was measured under the same environmental conditions, and each melon was inspected by three people. A panel of participants tasted the fruit, judged when it was ready to eat, and investigated the correlation between the ripeness and aromatic gas concentration.The results are shown in the table below.

Therefore, the aroma component gas concentration indication value for this type of melon when it is ready to eat is 125 to 225.

[Other actual flow side]

In addition to semiconductor gas sensors, gas chromatography, catalytic combustion gas sensors, and the like may be used to measure the concentration of aromatic gases generated from fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, the setting range of aroma gas concentration appropriate for determining the ripeness of eating varies depending on the type of fruits and vegetables, and even among different varieties of the same fruit. Depending on the situation, it is necessary to set each before making a determination.

Moreover, the aromatic component gases generated from the surface of garden crops are
Gases with different components and compositions may be generated depending not only on the type of garden crops but also on the number of days that have passed, and it is necessary to measure all of them with a measuring device that can comprehensively measure the concentration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a graph showing changes in concentration of each generated gas, and FIG. 2 is a graph showing a sensitivity curve of a semiconductor gas sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Among the volatile gases generated from the surface of garden crops, the concentration of aroma gas is measured, and the measured value of the aroma gas concentration is set in advance while the garden crops are not rotting. If the measured value is within the set range, it is determined that it is ripe to eat; on the other hand, if the measured value is not within the set range, it is determined that it is not ripe to eat. A method for determining when garden crops are ripe for consumption. 2. The method for determining the ripeness of horticultural crops according to claim 1, wherein a first component consisting of at least one kind of oxide of an alkaline earth element is added to a sintered semiconductor whose main component is tin oxide;
c, Y, Ti, Zr, Hf, Th, Al, Ga, and
A method for determining the ripeness of horticultural crops, which measures the concentration of an aromatic component gas using a semiconductor gas sensor carrying a second component comprising at least one oxide of a lanthanide element.