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If a postharvest dip is used, calcium chloride (CaCl^) may also 

 he added to the solution. Adequate calcium levels in the fruit are 

 essential for long storage life. If calcium treatments have not been 

 applied during the season, or if significant amounts of cork or 

 bitterpit are present in the fruit, 24 to 32 lbs of CaCl^/100 gallons 

 may be added to the dip solution. The calcium residue oft the surface 

 of the fruit will continue to enter the apples during storage, and 

 can substantially reduce the development of fruit disorders. 



Storage operations . CA rooms should be filled and sealed as quickly 

 as the apples can be thoro ughly cooled . The longer the fruit remain 

 in air after harvest, the less benefit CA will have on them. It 

 should be no more than 2 weeks between the time you start loading 

 a room and when that room is sealed. However, to accomplish this 

 you must have sufficient refrigeration capacity in that room to ' 

 remove the field heat, or else have a special room with extra cooling 

 capacity m which you do the initial cooling of the fruit. If you 

 must choose between thorough cooling and early sealing, choose 

 thorough cooling . Don't overload your cooling capacity to get an 

 early seal. 



The exact temperature at which you store your fruit is a criti- 

 cal factor in determining how well they will keep. You must have a 

 highly reliable, calibrated thermometer in the storage room, and 

 you must store the fruit a_t the recommended temperature, not near 

 It. A storage temperature that is only 1° or 2°F above the recom- 

 mended temperature will significantly reduce the storage life of 

 your fruit. 



Traditionally, a relative humidity of 90 to 95% has been recom- 

 mended for apple storages. It has been clearly shown in recent years 

 that if the R.H. is very near 1001, apples are more subject to break- 

 down disorders; on the other hand, if R.H. is below 90% the apples 

 will shrivel. However, we know of no storage that is equipped to 

 monitor R.H., and doubt if very many storage operators ever measure 

 R.H. (a slmg psychrometer is a good tool for measuring humidity). 

 In this situation, we feel that storages are more likely to have too 

 low humidity than too high a humidity, since it is not easy to 

 maintain an atmosphere close to 100% R.H. Therefore, we recommend 

 that storage operators do everything possible to maintain as moist 

 an atmosphere as possible in the storage. 



For CA storage, our recommended conditions are the same as in 

 recent years. Mcintosh and Macoun should be stored at 1% 0. , 5% CO?, and 

 38°F. Baldwin, Delicious, Empire, Golden Delicious, Idared, Northern 

 Spy, Rome Beauty, and Spartan should be stored at 3% 0^, 1% COo, and 

 32°F. Cortland may be stored under either regime, but store best as 

 part of the latter group of varieties. 



Careful observations and record keeping do not end with attain- 

 ment of the CA condition. Atmosphere and temperature should be 

 monitored and recorded daily. If the 0, falls below 3%, it should 



