RHIZOPUS ROT OF STRAWBERRIES IN TRANSIT. 15 



which the fruit is picked without further handling. However, fruit 

 shipped in crates without refrigeration or in pony refrigerators, as 

 from Florida, usually suffers severely by careless handling at points 

 of transfer. In these cases the close packing of the fruit to prevent 

 settling has been found to be of much advantage. If packed too 

 tightly or forced into place, the fruit is unnecessarily crushed and 

 bruised. The aim of the best packers is to place the berries as closely 

 as possible without crowding or injuring them. 



DIRECT SOURCES OF INFECTION. 



One experiment was conducted in which the berries were treated 

 in various ways to obtain, if possible, some indication as to the most 

 serious sources of infection with Rhizopus in commercial handling. 

 Apparently sound berries were selected, and in order to accentuate 

 the comparative value of the results obtained the epidermis of each 

 berry (except in A and C, Table I) was broken with a sterile needle 

 before other treatment. All berries were then packed similarly and 

 shipped in small iced containers. The results of the experiment are 

 given in Table I. 



Table I. — Infection of strawberries resulting from various methods of treatment. 



Treatment of fruit, if any. 



Condition after arrival 

 at destination (per 

 cent). 



Sound. 



Soft 

 spots. 



Leaks. 



A. — Sound fruit, not wounded 



B. — Wounded with sterile needle 



C. — Wounded with pine needles 



D. — Washed in clean water 



E. — Washed in water used in packing house 



F. — Dirt forced into the wounds 



G.— Rhizopus mycelium forced into wounds 



H.— W ashed in water containing spores from a pure culture of Rhizopus. 







7 



3 



12 



29 







100 



100 



Table I shows that injury with pine needles and washing in clean 

 water did not injure the shipping qualities of the berries any more 

 than did injury with the sterile needle. The contrast between the 

 final condition of fruit washed in clean running water and that 

 washed in the ordinary commercial manner was most striking. This 

 preliminary shipment gave a valuable clue, which was followed in 

 subsequent experiments. In all later shipments sound, unwounded 

 berries selected individually by one of the writers or those selected 

 by careful professional packers were used. 



WASHING BERRIES. 



The influence of washing upon the development of rot in straw- 

 berries was investigated. In each of a series of shipments made in 

 small iced containers, commercial pony refrigerators, or ventilated 



