Interna tional Jo urna l o f Adva nced Bio chemistry Research 20 24 ; SP-8 (7 ): 608 -6 10

ISSN Print: 2617-4693

ISSN Online: 2617-4707
IJABR 2024; SP-8(7): 608-610
Fruit maturity detection using deep learning: An
www.biochemjournal.com
Received: 18-04-2024
overview
Accepted: 22-05-2024

Sahil Yadav Sahil Yadav, Sanjay Kumar Jain, Deepak Rajpurohit, Kamlesh Kumar
M.Tech Scholar, Department Meena and Kalpna Jain
of Processing and Food
Engineering, College of
Technology and Engineering,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i7Sh.1597
Maharana Pratap University
of Agriculture and Technology, Abstract
Udaipur; Rajasthan, India Accurate and efficient fruit maturity assessment plays a critical role in the agricultural sector, impacting
post-harvest management, fruit quality, and economic returns. Traditional methods for maturity
Sanjay Kumar Jain detection often rely on destructive techniques or subjective visual inspection, leading to limitations.
Professor, Department of Deep learning (DL) has emerged as a powerful tool for automated fruit maturity prediction, offering a
Processing and Food non-destructive, objective, and rapid approach. This review paper comprehensively explores the
Engineering, College of application of deep learning in fruit maturity detection. We delve into the theoretical foundations of
Technology and Engineering, deep learning architectures commonly employed for this task, including convolutional neural networks
Maharana Pratap University (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and their combinations. We then analyze various deep
of Agriculture and Technology,
learning techniques used for fruit maturity assessment, such as image segmentation, object detection,
Udaipur; Rajasthan, India
and regression analysis. We present a detailed review of existing research on deep learning applications
Deepak Rajpurohit for fruit maturity detection in various fruits, including apples, mangoes, bananas, citrus fruits, and
Professor, Department Post berries. This review critically evaluates the strengths and limitations of deep learning approaches,
Harvest Engineering and highlighting their accuracy, efficiency, and generalizability. We discuss the impact of factors like
Technology, College of image quality, data augmentation techniques, and transfer learning on model performance. Finally, we
Technology and Engineering, explore future research directions for deep learning in fruit maturity detection, focusing on areas like
Maharana Pratap University multi-modal learning, explainable AI approaches, and real-time applications for on-farm deployment.
of Agriculture and Technology,
Udaipur; Rajasthan, India Keywords: Fruit maturity, deep learning, CNNs, RNNs
Kamlesh Kumar Meena
Professor, College of Dairy and 1. Introduction
Food Technology, Maharana Fruit maturity assessment is crucial in the agricultural sector for determining the optimal
Pratap University of harvest time. Traditionally, fruit maturity is determined through destructive techniques like
Agriculture and Technology, flesh firmness measurement or subjective visual inspection based on color changes. These
Udaipur; Rajasthan, India methods have limitations, such as being destructive, time-consuming, and prone to human
Kalpna Jain
error. Non-destructive techniques like spectroscopy and electronic nose technology have
Professor, Department of been developed, but they require specialized equipment and expertise.
Computer Science Engineering, Deep learning (DL), a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI), has revolutionized various
College of Technology and sectors, including agriculture. DL models learn complex patterns from large datasets of
Engineering, Maharana Pratap images, enabling them to perform tasks like image classification, object detection, and
University of Agriculture and
Technology, Udaipur,
semantic segmentation. This capability makes deep learning a powerful tool for automated
Rajasthan, India fruit maturity detection, offering a non-destructive, objective, and rapid approach.

2. Deep Learning Architectures for Fruit Maturity Detection

Deep learning models rely on artificial neural networks with multiple layers of
interconnected nodes, inspired by the structure and function of the human brain. Here, we
explore the most common deep learning architectures employed for fruit maturity detection:
Corresponding Author:  Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs): CNNs are particularly well-suited for image
Sahil Yadav analysis tasks. They utilize convolutional layers to extract features from images,
M.Tech Scholar, Department
followed by pooling layers to reduce dimensionality and improve model efficiency.
of Processing and Food
Engineering, College of Fully connected layers at the end of the network classify images or predict fruit maturity
Technology and Engineering, based on extracted features.
Maharana Pratap University  Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs): RNNs excel at handling sequential data like time
of Agriculture and Technology, series. While not as widely used for fruit maturity detection as CNNs, RNNs can be
Udaipur; Rajasthan, India
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beneficial when analyzing image sequences captured and subtle color changes. However, researchers are
over time to track fruit maturity progression. Combined exploring deep learning for this purpose. For example,
Architectures: Combining CNNs with RNNs, also Fuentes et al. (2017) [13] utilized a deep learning model
known as convolutional recurrent neural networks to classify strawberry maturity stages based on image
(CRNNs) or convolutional long short-term memory features, demonstrating the potential of this approach
(ConvLSTM) networks, can leverage the strengths of for delicate fruits.
both architectures. CNNs extract features from
individual images, while RNNs capture temporal 5. Strengths and limitations of deep learning for fruit
dependencies between images in a sequence, potentially maturity detection
improving maturity prediction accuracy.  Deep learning offers several advantages for fruit
maturity detection:
 Non-destructive: Deep learning models analyze
3. Deep learning techniques for fruit maturity images, eliminating the need for destructive sampling
assessment techniques.
Deep learning offers various techniques for fruit  Objectivity: Deep learning models rely on data-driven
maturity detection: patterns, reducing human bias and ensuring consistent
 Image Segmentation: Segmentation techniques results.
partition an image into regions corresponding to  Rapidity: Deep learning models can analyze images
different fruit maturity levels. This allows for and predict maturity levels in real-time, facilitating
identifying ripe fruits and separating them from unripe efficient fruit sorting and harvesting decisions.
or overripe ones within the image.  Accuracy: Deep learning models can achieve high
 Object Detection: Object detection models localize accuracy rates in fruit maturity detection, surpassing
and classify fruits within an image, potentially traditional methods in many cases.
estimating their maturity level simultaneously. This is
particularly useful for images containing multiple fruits 5.1 Despite these strengths, limitations also exist:
at different maturity stages.  Data Requirements: Deep learning models require
 Regression Analysis: Regression models learn a large amounts of labeled data for training, which can be
mapping between image features extracted by deep challenging and time-consuming to acquire, especially
learning and a continuous variable representing the fruit for diverse fruit varieties and growing conditions.
maturity level. This approach can provide a quantitative  Generalizability: Deep learning models trained on
estimate of fruit ripeness. specific datasets may not perform well when applied to
fruits with different appearances or grown under
4. Applications of deep learning for fruit maturity varying conditions.
detection in various fruits  Computational Cost: Training deep learning models
4.1 Deep learning has been successfully applied for can be computationally expensive, requiring powerful
maturity detection in a wide range of fruits hardware resources.
 Apples: CNNs have been used to classify apple  Explainability: Deep learning models can be complex
maturity stages based on color and surface texture "black boxes," making it difficult to understand how
features extracted from images, achieving high they arrive at their predictions. This lack of
accuracy rates [Li et al., 2019; Zhao et al., 2020] [7, 16]. explainability can limit trust in their results.
 Mangoes: Deep learning models have been employed
to predict mango maturity by analyzing changes in 6. Factors affecting deep learning model performance
color, shape, and surface characteristics [Singh et al., Several factors can influence the performance of deep
2019; Jayamala et al., 2020] [11, 4]. These models can learning models for fruit maturity detection:
differentiate between immature, mature, and overripe  Image Quality: High-resolution images with clear and
mangoes with good accuracy. consistent lighting are crucial for accurate feature
 Bananas (continued): Barbedo et al. (2019) [2] extraction by deep learning models.
achieved promising results using CNNs to classify  Data Augmentation Techniques: Techniques like
banana maturity into seven stages based on peel color image flipping, rotation, and color jittering can help
changes. Similarly, Wang et al. (2020) [14] employed a artificially expand the training dataset and improve
deep learning model to predict the optimal harvest time model robustness to variations in image appearance.
for bananas by analyzing changes in peel color and fruit  Transfer Learning: Transfer learning involves
size. utilizing a pre-trained deep learning model on a large
 Citrus Fruits: Deep learning has been applied to image dataset and fine-tuning it for the specific task of
maturity detection in oranges, grapefruits, and lemons. fruit maturity detection. This can leverage existing
Liu et al. (2017) [9] developed a CNN-based approach to knowledge and reduce training time compared to
classify citrus maturity stages based on peel color and training a model from scratch.
surface texture, achieving high accuracy compared to
traditional methods. Similarly, Zhang et al. (2018) [15] 7. Future Research Directions
used a deep learning model to predict the sugar content Deep learning for fruit maturity detection is a rapidly
of oranges, a key indicator of maturity, by analyzing evolving field. Here are some promising future research
fruit images. directions
 Berries: Maturity detection in berries like strawberries
and blueberries is challenging due to their small size
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 Multi-modal Learning: Integrating deep learning with 8. Liakos M, et al. A survey of edge computing in
other sensor data like hyperspectral imaging or near- agriculture: Deployment challenges and opportunities.
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