Describing shrivel development in 'SunGold™' kiwifruit using fringe projection and three-dimension scanner : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Food Technology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

Postharvest kiwifruit shrivel decreases customer satisfaction and is highly correlated with weight loss during storage after harvest. The wrinkled skin has been mainly attributed to the water loss from cells near the epidermis on the kiwifruit surface. This thesis investigated the impact of rate of weight loss on kiwifruit shrivel symptoms, and the use of skin topography to non-destructively and quantitatively describe shrivel severity. Three regimes (20℃, 47% RH; 20℃, 53% RH; 1℃, 80% RH) were evaluated over a 6% weight loss range to assess kiwifruit skin topography parameters using fringe projection. Generally, a higher weight loss induces more severe shrivel symptoms. Kiwifruit with 4-5% weight loss were regarded as being at risk of shriveling and a shriveled kiwifruit normally has 1- 6% relative mass loss. Skin topography parameters could identify the shrivel occurrence but cannot classify the severity of shrivel. The vertical parameters represented by root mean square average of height of roughness (Rq) could indicate the shrivel occurrence at 73.7% accuracy, whereas Peak density (PC) gave an accuracy of 81.9%. Also, fringe projection showed obvious differentiation surface changes at each weight loss treatment in each storage period. Advanced 3D technology was applied in physically recreating 3D samples of fruit at different levels of shrivel severity. This investigation showed obvious distinctions between shrivel categories in the 3D fruit surfaces, however it lacked accuracy. It is concluded that the shrivel appearance can be identified by skin topography parameters. 3D technology has the potential ability to record and reproduce the shrivel severities which are measurable using surface imaging technologies such as fringe projection