Applications of Discrete Wavelet Analysis for Predicting Internal Quality of Cherry Tomatoes using VIS/NIR Spectroscopy

Purpose: This study evaluated the feasibility of using a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) method as a preprocessing tool for visible/near-infrared spectroscopy (VIS/NIRS) with a spectroscopic transmittance dataset for predicting the internal quality of cherry tomatoes. Methods: VIS/NIRS was used to acquire transmittance spectrum data, to which a DWT was applied to generate new variables in the wavelet domain, which replaced the original spectral signal for subsequent partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis and prediction modeling. The DWT concept and its importance are described with emphasis on the properties that make the DWT a suitable transform for analyzing spectroscopic data. Results: The $R^2$ values and root mean squared errors (RMSEs) of calibration and prediction models for the firmness, sugar content, and titratable acidity of cherry tomatoes obtained by applying the DWT to a PLS regression with a set of spectra showed more enhanced results than those of each model obtained from raw data and mean normalization preprocessing through PLS regression. Conclusions: The developed DWT-incorporated PLS models using the db5 wavelet base and selected approximation coefficients indicate their feasibility as good preprocessing tools by improving the prediction of firmness and titratable acidity for cherry tomatoes with respect to $R^2$ values and RMSEs.