256 STORING FRUIT 



the rougher the fruit has been handled the lower the temperature 

 should be. We ought not, however, to expect that fruit is 

 going to be any better when taken from cold storage than when 

 put in. Many people have apparently overlooked this and ex- 

 pect the storage man to make a number one apple out of a 

 number two while it is in his charge. 



Fungous and physiological diseases exercise a very im- 

 portant influence on the keeping of fruit. Among the former 

 the scab or black spot of apples and pears, and the monilia, or 

 brown rot, of the stone fruits, deserve particular mention. Fre- 

 quently they cause almost the total loss of fruit that is stored. 

 Spraying, careful handling, and low temperature are the methods 

 of reducing the loss, but even these cannot reduce -it to zero. 

 Among physiological diseases the scald, and the dry rot or 

 Baldwin spot of apples, are especially important. Neither one 

 is entirely understood, but either one will cause a tremendous 

 amount of loss under certain conditions. 



The conditions under which the fruit was grown also exert 

 a very important influence on the length of time that it will 

 keep. Large, overgrown specimens will not keep as well as 

 smaller specimens with firmer flesh. This is why apples grown 

 in sod orchards usually keep better than those grown in culti- 

 vated orchards. Fruit grown on a light sandy soil generally 

 does not keep so well as that grown on a heavier soil, though this 

 is probably due largely to the fact that the fruit on the sandy soil 

 is allowed to get too ripe before picking. Fertilizers certainly 

 exert an influence on keeping. Where too much nitrogen is 

 used and the fruit is large and soft it will not keep so long 

 after it has reached maturity. On the other hand, the maturing 

 of such fruit is delayed. Good color is desirable because it 

 means a fully developed fruit, but overcolor is not desirable 

 because it indicates that the fruit may be past the best stage 

 of maturity. 



The type of package used in storage certainly influences the 

 keeping quality. A tight package seems generally to give 

 better results than an open one, and a relatively small package 

 is better than a large one, probably because the smaller body of 



