Evaluation of the Colour of Dried Dutch Rose Flowers Using a Colorimeter

Abstract

The visual appearance of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the first quality determination made by the consumer. Often the appearance of the commodity is the most critical factor in the initial sale. The flower colour of fresh and dried Dutch rose varieties at Regional Horticultural Research and Extension Centre, UHS (Campus) GKVK, Bengaluru was documented using a Minolta CR-10 portable tristimulus colorimeter. With the colorimeter, flower chromaticity was recorded in Commission Internationale d’ Eclairage L*, C* and h° colour space coordinates. In this system of colour representation the values L*, C* and h°, where L value corresponds to the brightness of the flower, C describes the intensity of the colour and h° represents the hue angle. The colorimeter, however, allowed the description of colours that fell between the colour charts and had the ability to compare the specific colour attributes of different varieties of similar and different colour. The ability to interpolate colours with the colorimeter allows a greater precision in documentation and discrimination of flower colour.