moist plastic containers at 75°F for 5 to 7 days and then 

 inspected for rots. 



Increasing drop height increased the average size of 

 impact bruises (Table 1). However, bruising was not 

 increased by storage time, even though the apples softened 

 during storage. Also, cultivar did not greatly influence 

 bruise size from a fall of a given height, so the data in Table 

 1 are the average values for the 3 cultivars. 



Bruising greatly affected the amount of rotting that 

 occurred on these apples, as shown in Figure 1. Bruising 

 at harvest (0 months of storage) resulted in very little rot, 

 regju^dless of bruise size or cultivar. However, after 2 or 4 

 months of storage, bruising led to much rotting, and the 

 amount was greater for the apples stored for a longer time 

 before bruising. 



Rotting increased as drop height (and bruise size. 

 Table 1) increased. A given drop height caused much 

 more rotting of Golden Delicious than of the other culti- 

 vars, and more on Mcintosh than on Red Delicious, even 

 though bruise size from a fall of a given height was about 

 the same for all 3 cultivars. 



Since damage to the fruit from a given impact did not 

 increase with storage time, but subsequent rotting in- 

 creased greatly (Figure 1), the difference must be due to 

 ripening changes inside the fruit. It is well known that as 



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 60- 

 40- 

 20 

 







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 20 40 60 80 100 



Impact drop height (cm) 



Figure 1. Percent blue mold rotting that developed on 3 cultivars of apples dropped different heights onto a con- 

 tammated metal plate after 0, 2, or 4 months of storage at 34°F. After bruising, the apples were kept in a moist 

 environment for 5 to 7 days at 75°F. 



