Investigation of physiological disorder classification in mangosteen fruit using visible and shortwave near-infrared spectroscopy combined with machine learning

Accurate classification of physiological disorders in mangosteen fruit is crucial for ensuring production quality, safety, sustainability, and economic viability. This study investigates the application of visible and shortwave near-infrared (Vis/SWNIR) reflectance spectroscopy, combined with machine learning algorithms, to classify three primary disorders: normal fruit (NF), translucent flesh disorder (TFD), and TFD with yellow gummy latex (TFD & YGL). The study specifically examines the effects of light intensity, spectral pretreatments, and machine learning models on classification performance. Spectral data were collected using two light intensities (50 % and 100 % of a 150 W light source) and processed with three pretreatments: standard normal variate (SNV), second derivative Savitzky-Golay (SGD2), and a combination of SNV and SGD2. Random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) algorithms were used for classification. The SGD2 method improved differentiation, especially for the TFD & YGL class, in the 700–725 nm wavelength range, which is associated with xanthone content in the fruit's pericarp. Higher light intensity (100 %) significantly improved classification accuracy, achieving an overall accuracy of 0.71 and an average F1 score of 0.61 with the RF model. Despite these improvements, the model struggled to distinguish the TFD class from NF due to their similar spectral profiles. Overall, the Vis/SWNIR spectroscopy and machine learning combination shows strong potential for the non-destructive classification of mangosteen fruit disorders. Both light intensity and spectral pretreatments play critical roles in enhancing performance. Future studies should focus on improving spectral sensitivity to better capture internal fruit characteristics.