200 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



intended for storage before it was fully mature. A systematic study on 

 a large scale has shown this to be erroneous. Green, immature fruit is 

 subject to scald, and if very green, will shrivel in storage, while the same 

 variety fully matured holds much longer and in better condition. This 

 principle has been found to hold true for all kinds of fruits except 

 pears and lemons. These are apparantly the only fruits whicli are 

 better when picked before full maturity o-.- ripeness, as the term is 

 ordinarily interpreted. By full maturity is meant full color with firm 

 flesh and the seeds fully grown and colored. Overripeness must be 

 avoided as much as immaturity. In some, sections it is a general 

 practice to alow- the crop to remain until all the fruits are fully colored. 

 There is danger when this is done that part may become overripe and 

 consequently have low storage, or even shipping, quality. It is best, 

 especially with the earlier ripening varieties, to make more than one 

 picking, selecting each time the fully colored fruits and allowing the 

 undeveloped to remain. The fruit grown on the outer branches develops 

 more rapidly and consequently ripens first. Much more uniform storage- 

 holding quality can be obtained by keeping these fruits separately, 

 unless the trees are open-headed and there is a uniform development 

 throughout. 



Influence of Handling on Keeping Quality. 



The bureau investigations have shown that a direct relation exists 

 between the type of handling and the occurrence of decay in both 

 storage and transit. As has already been mentioned, the common forms 

 of decay are caused by fungi which gain entrance through some 

 form of mechanical injury to the fruit. Fruit is most commonly 

 injured in preparing it for market, in the picking, grading, hauling, 

 and packing operations. In general, most growers appreciate that 

 fruit must be carefully handled, but they have no conception of the 

 amount of injury ordinaril done unless extra care is used. In the course 

 df the bureau investigations many instances were found where growers 

 who had the reputation of handling carefully were really injuring a 

 large percentage of their produce through ignorance or oversight. 

 From 10 to 15 per cent of apples were found to be injured, and in the 

 ^ase of citrus fruits the percentage of injuries was aften much highei". 



The apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry ana grape are far more easily 

 injured than the orange or lemon. The necessity for great care in 

 handling these fruits is therefore all the more urgent. In California 

 all up-to-date citrus growers and handlers use gloves in all picking, 

 grading, and packing operations. If this practice does not prevail in 

 Ontario apple orchards it should be adopted, as in this way many 

 types of injury may be avoided. In the citrus investigations, sand, 

 gravel, dried twigs and dirt in the packing bags and field boxes were 

 found to Le responsible for much abrasion of the skin of the fruits, 

 which was always followed by serious decay. The tender skin of the 

 apple and pear is very susceptible to this type of injury. For this 



