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. When 

 fruit has the skin broken in any way, as by pulling an apple 

 from the tree without the stem, or by having the stem of another 

 apple puncture it while in the basket, several of the common 

 molds are likely to gain entrance and cause the fruit to decay 

 rapidly. Frequently 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 wltich the fruit ivas groivn 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 w^ell 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 inay be past the best stage 

 of maturity. 



