Prediction of loquat soluble solids and titratable acid content using fruit mineral elements by artificial neural network and multiple linear regression

•Artificial neural network (ANN) architecture of 9:12:1 can accurately predict soluble solids content (SSC) (R2 = 0.9597).•ANN architecture of 9:11:1 can accurately predict titratable acids content (TAC) (R2 = 0.9580).•ANN architecture of 9:11:1 can accurately predict the ratio of soluble solids to titratable acid content (R2 = 0.9658).•The N, P, K, Mg content in fruits contribute relatively largely to the SSC, TAC and SSC/TAC of loquat.