**4.2 Chromameter**

The chromameter is a tool for precise and objective assessment of surface color. It can be used to preselect materials for further analysis. It records data output in the form of the L\* a\* b\* color coordinate. This system has been used for different studies pertaining to skin color [8, 54]. The L \* corresponds to levels of darkness or lightness between black and white colors. Coordinate a\* signifies the balance between red/ green, and b\* between yellow/blue. This simple technique has equally been used to accurately quantify color intensity and quality in some plant tissues [13]. Sanchez et al. [8] observed that total carotenoid content and color intensity were strongly and positively associated (R2 = 0.769, P < 0.01), suggesting that the roots of cassava clones with a relatively high total carotenoid content can be selected through a simple visual inspection of the color intensity in the parenchyma. The difference in color of 228 biofortified cassava clones was also analyzed by [55], using the L\* a\* b\* color coordinate system resulting in a high positive correlation between total carotenoids content (TCC) and the variables b\* (r = 0.90) and chroma (r = 0.89). Their results demonstrate that the use of data obtained from this device is an economical, fast, and effective alternative for the development of TCC phenotyping tools with high predictive ability.
