UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



S\J9>*^^U 



BULLETIN No. 714 



Contribution from the Bareau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



August 9, 1918 



SPOILAGE OF CRANBERRIES AFTER HARVEST. 



By C. L. Sheab and Neil E. Stevens, Pathologists ; R. B. Wilcox and B. A. 

 Rudolph, Scientiflo Assistants, Fruit-Disease Investigations. 



(Tho work done in Massachusetts was in cooperation witti the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural Experiment Station.) 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Caxises of the cranberry spoilage 2 



Bruising 2 



Drying out 3 



Natural ripening processes 4 



Smothering 4 



Conditions which cause smothering 4 



Water storage 5 



Prevention of smothering 5 



Fungi 6 



Importance 6 



Principal cranberry fungi which cause 



fruit rots 6 



Control of fungous diseases 7 



Summary 18 



Practical suggestions 19 



Literature cited 20 



INTRODUCTION, 



IMPORTANCE OF SPOILAGE AFTER HARVEST. 



Three million dollars' worth of cranberries are, on the average, 

 produced annually in the United States. Although effective control 

 measures are practiced by many growers, a considerable portion of 

 the crop, certainly not less than 10 per cent, is lost through fungous 

 diseases before the fruit is picked. Large losses also frequently ap- 

 pear after picking. In some respects this spoilage is more trouble- 

 some than that which occurs earlier. Fruit which spoils after it is 

 packed and shipped has cost the grower for handling and packing, 

 and further expense is frequently involved in claims for allowances, 

 shipments refused, inspection, and sometimes reseparating at the 

 market. On the average, at least 15 per cent of the crop is estimated 

 to be lost between the field and the consumer. 



A less obvious but even more serious effect upon the demand for 

 and sale of cranberries is that produced by marketing spoiled fruit. 

 "Time and again," says Mr. A. U. Chaney (3, p. 30)^, "have I no- 



The serial numbers in parentheses refer to " Literature cited " (p. 20). 



