Instrumentation for color measurement is relatively well developed in terms of a convenient and accurate tool for the plant breeder. This paper discusses the development of a color solid and the meaning of a color reading in terms of the Judd-Hunter solid. Carrots are used as a specific example with references to squash, sweetpotatoes and red fruit juices. Color measurement can be used to predict the appearance of a fruit or vegetable which in turn can be used to predict the consumer acceptance in terms of appearance for the product. These methods are fairly accurate and are limited only by the ingenuity of the operator to present the sample to the instrument. The readings will reflect the visual impact from all factors which affect the color. It is unlikely that a color reading can be used to follow the development or degradation of a single pigment unless the system under study has only one predominant pigment. Such cases are relatively uncommon with fruits and vegetables.
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Frank Francis (1970) studied this question.