THE STORAGE OF HUBBARD SQUASH 9 



tained at too hio-h a temperature for best squash storage and this 

 could not be remedied, another room was provided. A uniform tem- 

 perature of .-^O^F. near the door and 60°F. at the top of the shelves was 

 manitamed. These temperatures were thought to be about right for 

 Blue Hubbard squash storage. The humiditv was maintained at 

 trom ZO to 50 per cent. In order to avoid bruising the squash by fre- 

 (|uent exammations, they were left in place on the racks far enouo-h 

 apart so that they could be inspected from all sides without moving 

 tliem. \\ hen evidence of spoilage occurred, the fruits were removed 

 Ihis years experiment was conducted under what might be called 

 optimum storage conditions so far as we know them. The stems in 

 one lot of squash were removed close to the fruits with a prunino- 

 saw. Other squash were bruised by hitting them with a wide smooth 

 board; no skin breakage occurred. Squash left uncovered in the field 

 and injured by trost were also placed in storage. Thermocouples 

 connected to an automatic recording instrument showed that the air 



loo'^'^^'f^"''^; """ ^^'^ "^^-''^ ^''^^ '"j"^>' to the squash occurred, was 

 Zb t., but the temperature underneath the skin on the top of the 

 squash dropped as low as 22° F. 



Fig- 4. — A squash with 

 stem gouged out, after five 

 months' storage. Note that 

 cut area has healed over. 



1944-1945 Results 



The results of the storage experiment as compiled in Tabic 5 

 largely confirm expectations. The crop as a whole kept well with 

 the temperature at 50°-60°F. and low humiditv 20-50 per cent The 

 short-stemmed squash kept better than the long-stemmed ones. Those 

 taken directly to storage kept better than the field-piled ones. Since 

 the best of those taken directly to storage kept perfectlv. greenhouse 

 curing tor two weeks could not be expected to make them better but 

 they did give perfect storage. The heat in the greenhouse at ' one 

 point reached 120°F., which, while not recommended, obviouslv did 

 no serious damage. Greenhouse-stored squash showed more yellow- 

 ing by February 7 then those not cured, probablv because the heat 



