PH—Postharvest Technology: Automatic Jalapeño Chilli Grading by Width

Jalapeño chilli is a variety grown extensively in Mexico consumed by almost all the population. It has a high processing demand and proper sorting is required before filling or canning. A sorter that classifies chilli by three different width sizes was built. The conveyor used baby suckers to align each chilli during sensing. Chilli width was determined by means of a photodiode scanner, which detected the incoming radiation sent by a laser line generator. Chillies presenting necrosis were detected with a radiometer and removed to increase product quality. The accuracy on the necrosis detection and width classification was of 96·3 and 87%, respectively.