FURTHER STUDIES OF THE ROTS OF STRAWBERRY FRUITS, 5 



In six tests, which, included three v^arieties from two locaHties, 

 washed berries which had been placed in the crates while wet were 

 compared with unwashed berries. The results are given in Table 

 III. 



Table III. — Effect of washing stravjberries, as shown by six tests of fruit grown in 

 Louisiana and Missouri in 1917 . 





Variety. 



Locality where 

 grown. 



Unwashed fruit. 



Washed fruit. 



Test. 



Number 

 of berries. 



Sound. 



Number 

 of berries. 



Sound. 



No. 1 



Klondike 



Hammond, La 



do 



268 

 222 

 234 

 638 

 192 

 230 



Per cent. 

 41 



243 



Per cent. 

 26 



No 2 



Russell' 



40 22S 



26 



No 3 



Klondike 



do 



42 

 49 

 58 

 57 



194 

 658 

 162 

 198 



43 



No. 4 . 



do 



do 



52 



No 5 



.do 



do 



72 



No 6 - 



Warfleld . . 



Monett, Mo 



81 









I A local name. 



As was stated in a previous paper (12, p. 18), the improvement m 

 the keeping quaUty due to washing berries is greatest when the 

 temperature of the air is highest, as the improvement is apparently 

 due to the fact that the wetted berries are at a lower temperature 

 durmg the interval between packing and placing under refrigeration. 

 The results given in Table III emphasize these facts. In tests 

 Xos, 1 and 2 the berries were picked between 8 and 9 :30 a. m. on a 

 bright but rather cool morning following a heavy rain. Many of 

 the berries were still wet, and their temperature was not materially 

 lowered either by dipping or subsequent increased evaporation. 

 The chief effect of the treatment was, then, the shght bruising 

 incident to dipping, and the results are unfavorable to the washed 

 fruit. 



In tests Nos. 3 to 6, however, the berries were picked between 

 11 a. m. and 3 p. m. on warm bright days when the immersion and 

 evaporation actually lowered the temperature of the washed fruit 

 considerably below that of the dry. 



In tests Nos. 1 to 4 the berries were kept without refrigeration for 

 24 liours before being loaded into cars for shipment to Chicago. 

 The cooHng due to washing persisted for only a few hours, after 

 which the berries reached a temperature favorable for fungous 

 growth and remained at that temperature for a considerable time 

 prior to being placed in refrigerator cars, so the beneficial effect due 

 to washing was largely lost. In the last two tests, on the other hand, 

 the berries were loaded into iced cars within a few hours after picking 

 and washing, so that the cooling effect persisted for the entire interval 

 and the berries did not reach air temperature at any time. Under 

 these conditic ns washing markedly improved their keeping quahty. 



