-7- 



reports may be obtained for a moderate charge by sending a request to W. R. Cole, 

 Sec'y. of .I.F.G.A., Arnhf^rst, "lass. 



The Effect of Hon.ione or Grovrbh Substance Sprays on the Keepin g Quality of 

 Apples 



~-~- Recent experiments at the University of Illinois indicate that tre 

 use 0-'' hormone or grovrth substance sprays does not Impair the keeping quality 

 of apples sprayed with such materials. In these experiments Jonatnan, Grines, 

 and r.'inesap apples xvhich had been sprayed with three different brands of hor- 

 mone raaterials were subjected to a critical exa;mnation at monthly intervals 

 during the storage period. Y-'ith apples picked at the optimum stage of maturity 

 no significant difference in keeping quality was observed betwesn those 

 sprayed vith the various gro'v.'th substances and those which had received 

 no spray. 



Jonathan apples v;hich were allovjcd to remain on the tree two weeks 

 beyond the optimum stage of maturity ripened faster in storage, lost weight 

 m.ore rapidly, and developed a higher percentage of Jonathan spot than the early 

 picked apples. Late picked Grimes ripened faster and lost weight more rapidly 

 than thore picked at the optimum stage of maturity. Late picked Yfinesap, free 

 from v:atercore, seemed to keep as well and lost vreight no more rapidly than 

 those picked tvro weeks earlier, but thr percentage of vxatercore in the late 

 picked fruit was considerably higher thrn in that picked earlier. 



The results of these e::<:peri,Tients suggest that ripening of apples 

 in storage is not affected by the application of hormone sprays vjhen the apples 

 are picked at approximately the optim.um stage of maturity. However, excessive 

 delay in harvesting varieties v/hich respond to the use of horm.one sprays is 

 likely to shorten the storage life of the fruit. 0. C. Roberts 



Does It Pay to Store Ordinary Apples? 



An appie buyer of a form.er day classified apples according to three 

 grades: good, ordinary, very ordinary. \"e all know xvhat should be done with 

 "very ordinary apples." liow- about the middle class, ordinary apples? The 

 following summary of receipts and expenses furnished by a Y/orcetiter County 

 grower, tells its ovm story. Concerning a certain lot of applet, he says, 

 "At picking time I realized that they were not all good enough grade to stand 

 a storage e::pense of 26fi a bushel, so I put them in a less expensive storage 

 and paid 15i2^. Other expenses were: picking 10/, supervision and hauling 3/, 

 box 10/, nails, slats, shredded paper, liners, etc. 3/, transportation to 

 storage (20 miles) 5/, transportation from the storage to the point of sale 5/, 

 and some^vhere along the line, grading, packing and sorting 10/. Then if these 

 apples sold for 6r:/ the cormission amountr;d to 0-^-/. Adding all of these items, 

 vre get a total cost of G7g/ which means a net loss of 2|/ a bushel in addition 

 to the cost of grov;i}ig the apples. 



"These are figures which are nlain as day and accessible to all of us, 

 and I wonder if a more thorough knowledge of them might not stop the movement 

 of some such apples to market. I feel that if we can possibly work a lot of 

 the cheap apples into horticultural by-products, cider or stock feed, we will 

 be helping ourselves soi'icwhat and the apple business tremendously." 



