A VISIT TO THE APPALACHIAN FRUIT INDUSTRY 



It is not possible to visit another apple producing area for the first time 

 and be in a position to accurately analyze the industry. However, it is quite 

 apparent that the apple industry is important to the economy of the Appalachian 

 area. 



The orchard and packing house size, the mechanization in the packing sheds, 

 and the number of young plantings were particularly impressive. In comparison to 

 our New England orchards, most of the mature trees in the orchards visited are 

 tall and thick. Filler trees are used more extensively than by Massachusetts 

 apple growers. The young trees in the Virginia and West Virginia orchards are 

 considerably larger than trees of comparable age in our Massachusetts orchards. 



The Rice Fruit Company in Biglerville, Pennsylvania and the Cooperative 

 Fruit Growers of Adams County in Aspers, Pennsylvania were visited on the way to 

 the fruit areas in Virginia and West Virginia. 



Of interest at the Rice Fruit Company was the storage consisting of one room 

 with 100,000 bushel capacity and another of 50,000. The doors of these rooms 

 open automatically when the fork-lift trucks pass over an air hose placed on the 

 concrete in front of the doors. The air activates a switch which in turn starts 

 the motor for opening of the doors. Lines are painted on the floors of the 

 storage and the spaces between are numbered as an aid for stacking and keeping 

 track of the different lots of fruit. In a shed on the loading dock a duplicate 

 of the floor plan is kept and as the fruit are placed in storage in the fall, the 

 number of crates and their location are recorded. 



In Massachusetts, growers using pallets frequently tie the top tier of boxes 

 together. Pallet bands of rubber, which can be purchased, are being used for 

 this purpose in the Rice storage. Another concern purchases cords for this 

 purpose. The cords have attached metal hooks which eliminate tying and untying 

 knots . 



A water dumper for bulk bins and a Northwest drum-type dumper for regular 

 orchard crates are used in the Rice Fruit Company packing sheds. These are in 

 common use in the packing sheds visited in Virginia also. 



Of particular interest was the empty box trolley which is used to transport 

 the empty cartons to the packing line at the Rice Fruit Company packing shed. 

 These containers are assembled in the box storage loft over the packing line, 

 placed on the conveyor, and carried to the packing line. The system enables the 

 operator to supply several types or sizes of boxes to the packing line 

 simultaneously. 



The stands on which the empty cartons are placed during the packing are of 

 interest at the Rice Fruit Company. The stands are on casters and a roller is 

 attached to the top of the stand. During packing, the farther edge of the carton 

 being filled rests on the roller. When the carton is full, the packer pushes the 

 stand to a conveyor and then pushes the box with the aid of the roller onto the 

 conveyor. This eliminates any lifting of the filled cartons. 



The Cooperative Fruit Growers of Adams County have storage capacity for 

 approximately 230,000 bushels. Of particular interest were the polyethylene bags 



