STORAGE 335 



The results of experiments would seem to indicate that apples 

 frozen in cold storage at temperatures of 24 degrees or above would 

 remain uninjured if thawed out gradually at a temperature below 

 freezing — between 29 to 31 degrees. If proper care is given to 

 fruit accidentally frozen, the claims for damage against the storage 

 men will be less. 



Function of temperature. The behavior of different apples or 

 lots of apples in a storage room is largely dependent on their con- 

 dition when they enter the room. If they are in different stages 

 of ripeness or have been grown or handled differently or vary in 

 other respects, they will show different conditions as they slowly 

 ripen in the low temperature. If the fruit is already overripe the 

 low temperature cannot prevent its deteriorating sooner than would 

 otherwise be the case. If the fruit has been bruised or is covered 

 with rot spores, the low temperature may retard but cannot prevent 

 its premature decay. If there are inherent differences in the apples, 

 due to the character of the soil and methods of orchard manage- 

 ment, or variations due to methods of picking, packing, and ship- 

 ping, the low temperature must not be expected to obliterate them ; 

 it can only retard their normal development. 



Time for storing. A delay between harvesting and storing is 

 responsible for the deterioration of large quantities of fruit. The 

 extent of this loss depends on several things, the most common 

 of which are the temperature during the period of delay and the 

 condition under which the fruit is held, whether in piles in the 

 orchard, in tight buildings, where the warm air cannot pass off 

 readily, or in transit in tight cars. Fungous diseases get started 

 and develop rapidly while the fruit is warm, and cannot be checked 

 entirely when placed in storage. However, if the weather is cool 

 enough to prevent after-ripening, a delay in the storage of the 

 fruit may not be injurious to its keeping qualities. 



From the standpoint of the orchardist or the apple dealer who 

 cannot secure quick transportation to the large storage centers, 

 or who cannot obtain refrigerator cars, or who is geographically 

 situated where the weather is usually warm in apple-picking time, 

 the local storage plant in which the fruit can be placed at once 

 and distributed in cool weather offers important advantages. Many 

 of the large apple centers are supplied with storage facilities. 



