Non-Invasive Disease Stage Classification of Bitter Rot in Fruits Using Optical Coherence Tomography and Intensity-Based Image Analysis

Amila Karunanayaka; Nipun Kahatapitiya; Nisala Damith; Jeehyun Kim; Mansik Jeon; Bhagya Silva; Udaya Wijenayake; Ruchire Wijesinghe

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Non-Invasive Disease Stage Classification of Bitter Rot in Fruits Using Optical Coherence Tomography and Intensity-Based Image Analysis

Amila Dhanushka Karunanayaka

¹,

Nipun Shantha Kahatapitiya

²,

³,

²,

²,

^{4, 5},

^{*

3},

Ruchire Eranga Wijesinghe

^{*

1, 5}

¹ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Malabe 10115, Sri Lanka
² School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, College of IT Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
³ Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka
⁴ Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Computing, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Malabe 10115, Sri Lanka
⁵ Center for Excellence in Informatics, Electronics and Transmission (CIET), Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Malabe 10115, Sri Lanka

Academic Editor: Stefano Mariani

Published: 07 November 2025 by MDPI in The 12th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications session Smart Agriculture Sensors

https://doi.org/10.3390/ECSA-12-26540 (registering DOI)

Abstract:

Plant disease has a tremendous impact on global food security, and Colletotrichum spp. caused bitter rot is a greater challenge to post-harvest quality. Conventional diagnosis is precise but invasive and therefore inappropriate for real-time purposes. This study investigates optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a high-resolution, non-invasive imaging method to detect internal structural changes from disease progression. The developed OCT-based image analysis framework stages diseases by assessing morphological degradation. The discovery of unique oval-shaped internal features, invisible to other non-invasive methods, demonstrates OCT’s potential for early detection, accurate monitoring, and real-time application in precision agriculture.

Keywords: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT); Bitter Rot; Non-invasive Detection; Swept-Source OCT (SS-OCT); Fruit Disease Monitoring; Structural Biomarkers; Post-harvest Diagnostics

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