- 9 



ith a good temperature-control system, 

 t 30 F for maximum storage life. Storage 

 will lengthen storage life significantly 



Therefore, in a storage w 

 pears should be stored a 

 at 30° rather than 32-34 



Since pears are quite prone to shriveling, especially at the 

 narrow stem-end of the fruit, humidity control is particularly im- 

 portant. Maintaining the storage at 90-95% R.H. is considered to 

 be optimum. However, packing the pears in perforated polyethylene 

 bags is an excellent way to control shriveling due to moisture loss 



The Anjou variety of pears is very susceptible to scald. In 

 the Pacific Northwest, it has been found that dipping the fruit in 

 2700 ppm ethoxyquin (Stopscald*) will provide adequate control of 

 this disorder, and a fungicide is commonly applied with the Stop- 

 scald* will provide adequate control of this disorder, and a fung- 

 icide is commonly applied with the Stopscald to reduce decay dur- 

 ing storage. 



Pears have been shown to respond well to CA, although the 

 commercial adoption of this storage method has been much less than 

 for apples. It has been found in the West that the best atmosphere 



for Barlett and Anjou 

 necessary since pears 

 browncore to develop. 

 York to determine the 

 and it is anticipated 



and 1% COp; the 

 sensitive to 



1 ow COp 1 evel i s 



is 3% 0, 



are ver^ sensitive'^to this gas,''which causes 



Experiments are now being conducted in New 

 best CA conditions for Eastern-grown pears, 

 that CA storage will become a significant 



factor in pear storage in the near future. 



Varieties differ in their storage life, and this inherent dif- 

 ference is accentuated by the harvest maturity and the storage con- 

 ditions to which they are subjected. In general, however, Bartletts 

 seldom keep well beyond December-January, Boscs beyond February, 

 or Anjous beyond March. Pears may lose their capacity to ripen 

 properly with too-long storage, and this terminal point of storage 

 is usually shown by light yellowing of the skin of pears in the 

 storage room. 



Perhaps the greatest deterrent to prime quality is improper 

 ripening of pears. Most pears do not ripen in storage, thus must 

 be ripened after storage. All that is needed to achieve peak qual- 

 ity is to hold them at 60-65 F until sufficiently soft and yellow, 

 yet only too often they never attain this peak. Proper ripening 

 is the culmination of all the grower's efforts to provide the con- 

 sumer with a high quality item. If the pears are not ripened or 

 are ripened at too high or too low a temperature, not only is the 

 consumer being robbed of quality, the grower is being robbed of the 

 satisfaction, reputation, and repeat sales that could have been 

 generated by that lost quality. 



*Trade name 



*************** 



