3 - 



age environment. Root crops (carrots, beets, potatoes, etc.) have 

 been extensively tested and simply are not suited to CA storage. 

 Frequent mention is made of CA storage for flowers, but laboratory 

 successes are very difficult to put into commercial practice, due 

 in part to the vast number of flower species, varieties, and grow- 

 ing conditions that can all influence storage responses. 



On the national scene CA storage is moving into some new areas. 

 Some excellent results have been obtained from nut and grain tests 

 with CA, and commercial storage is now practiced. The object here 

 is mainly to control insects. Also, use of CA during transit of 

 meat is growing rapidly, and 401 of the "Transfresh" shipments are 

 with meat. In this case, the object is mainly to control bacteria 

 growth and discoloration of the meat. 



To the Northeast storage operator, however, it is evident that 

 CA storage today is still an apple industry. 



Hypobaric storage . During the past 10 years, a new concept 

 in storage has emerged. It is called "hypobaric storage", "low 

 pressure storage," or simply "LPS." This approach involves storing 

 produce under a strong vacuum, which removes gases (like the ripen- 

 ing ethylene) from the produce almost as fast as they are formed. 

 It also greatly reduces the amount of oxygen they are receiving, 

 and removes COo as fast as it forms. This type of storage has pro- 

 duced some remarkable results with storage of many commodities, in- 

 cluding apples and pears. 'Mcintosh' apples in March are said to 

 taste like they were just harvested. 



There are many engineering problems involved with applying 

 the technique. It would require whole new approaches to storage 

 construction. Tests with this new storage method have now been 

 made on small scales in a number of different places, and results 

 were critically evaluated at this Conference. It seems clear that 

 LPS can work, and work well, on a number of crops. Grumman Allied 

 Industries, Inc. (basically, an aerospace industry) is developing 

 40-foot long units for transporting produce in LPS, but they are 

 still experiencing technical problems. Even when it becomes tech- 

 nically feasible to commercially build and operate LPS systems, 

 they will be expensive. How economically competitive LPS will be 

 with CA remains to be determined. The recurring theme of reports 

 given on the use of LPS was that the spectacular effects first re- 

 ported for this system led to expectations that were too great. 

 More realistic assessments now state cautious optimism that LPS 

 will take its place in post-harvest horticulture, but that CA and 

 other systems now being used have not been made obsolete. 



Summary. This 1977 National CA Research Conference brought 

 together a great deal of knowledge, and some controversy, about 



