Nondestructive detection of total soluble solids in grapes using VMD-RC and hyperspectral imaging

Total soluble solids (TSS) are one of the most essential attributes determining the quality and price of fruit. This study aimed to use hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and wavelength selection for nondestructive detection of TSS in grape. A novel method involving variational mode decomposition and regression coefficients (VMD-RC) was proposed to select feature wavelengths. VMD was introduced to decompose the hyperspectral images data of samples with bands of (400.68-1001.61 nm) to get a series of feature components. Afterward, these components were processed separately using regression analysis to obtain the stability values of RC of each component. Finally, a filter-based selection strategy was used to screen key wavelengths. The least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) and partial least squares (PLS) were constructed under full and feature wavelengths for predicting TSS. The VMD-RC-LSSVM model obtained the best prediction accuracy for TSS, with $$ of 0.93, with $$ of 0.6 %, with $$ of 18.14 and $$ of 3.69. The overall results indicated that the VMD-RC algorithm can be used as an alternative to handle high-dimensional hyperspectral images data, and HSI has great potential for nondestructive and rapid evaluation of quality attributes in fruit. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Traditional methods of evaluating grape quality attributes are destructive, time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, HSI was used to achieve rapid and nondestructive determination of TSS in grape. The results indicated that it was feasible to use HSI and variable selection for predicting TSS. It is of great significance to improve grape quality, guide postharvest handling and provide a valuable reference for noninvasively evaluating other internal attributes of fruit.