Dec. i, 1920 Some Changes in Florida Grapefruit in Storage 



365 



Table IV. — Percentage of sugars, acids, dry matter, shrinkage of fruit, peel, and thick- 

 ness of peel of Davis grapefruit at various times during storage season 



PLACED IN STORAGE NOV. 21, 1918 

 STORED AT 32° F. 



STORED AT 36 F. 



After 58 days. . 

 After 88 days . . 

 After 1 18 days. 

 After 139 days . 



After 58 days . . 

 After 88 days. . 



After 1 18 days. 



After 139 days. 



STORED AT 40 F. 



4.72 

 4-56 



4- 7 



4- 7 

 4. 01 



3-9 



3-9 



A comparison of the acid content of the fruit from the two different 

 pickings, when placed in storage, showed that the fruit picked last has a 

 somewhat higher acid content, probably because the fruit of the first 

 picking stood in common storage 22 days before the first analyses. 



The sugar content of stored fruit is in rather striking contrast to the 

 acid content. With few exceptions, the percentage of total sugar is higher 

 in the stored fruit than in the samples analyzed when the fruit was placed 

 in storage. In some cases, as in the Davis fruit (Table IV), which had 

 been stored 139 days at 36 F., the sugar content is more than 30 per cent 

 higher than in the analyses made when the fruit was placed in storage. 

 The difference is as marked in other cases. In general, however, the in- 

 crease in total sugar content is more apparent than real and is probably 

 due to the loss of water from the fruit. The shrinkage of the fruit is in 

 many cases sufficient to account for the apparent increase in sugar con- 

 tent. It is, however, undoubedly true that there is no appreciable dim- 

 inution of the sugar content during storage at the four temperatures here 

 considered. 



The sucrose content, when calculated as percentage of pulp, remains 

 about the same during storage. Apparently the breaking down of the 

 sucrose just about keeps pace with the shrinkage of the fruit. This 



