864 



THE FRUIT INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK STATE 



and the losses thus incurred are frequently of considerable mo- 

 ment. Not uncommonly from twenty-five to fifty per cent of a crop 

 of the more susceptible kinds, such as the Baldwin, is either wholly 

 lost or the fruit reduced to a condition of relatively small worth. 

 Bitter pit, or stippin, usually appears on the fruit at or near 

 maturity. It is not primarily a storage disease. There are from 

 a few to many spots in an apple, and these may be described as 

 follows : The areas vary in size from mere dots to one-eighth of 

 an inch or more in diameter ; they are roundish in outline ; color 



FIG. 241. APPLE SHOWING CHARACTERISTIC STIPPIN OR BITTER PIT SPOTS 



pale to dark green, or ruddy brown. On the Baldwin the spots 

 are a darker red than the surrounding healthy tissue. The affected 

 areas are sunken and the flesh often tastes bitter, hence the name 

 bitter pit. Usually the spots are most numerous near the blossom 

 end. Their general appearance is not unlike that of hail-mark, but 

 the skin is not broken in any way. The disease is not infrequently 

 mistaken by growers for the spotting caused by San Jose scale. 



