A simple maturity index (Im) based on physico-chemical properties of seven cultivars of mangoes was formulated and field
tested with less than 10% variation in case of majority of cultivars
under study. The NIR model was developed to predict the computedIm. PLS models could successfully predict the Imin the wavelength range of 1600–1800 nm with Rvalues of calibration and
validation of 0.74 and 0.68, with residual standard deviation as
0.248 and 0.265 for calibration and validation, respectively. Field
validation of prediction using the developed NIR model indicated
less than 11% variations for majority of cultivars and thus may
be put for practical use