COMMERCIAL STORAGE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 23 



CARROTS 

 (Temperature, 32° F. ; relative humidity, 90 to 95 percent) 



Carrots are stored in fairly large quantities during the winter. 

 The marketing period for stored carrots extends to late winter or 

 early spring when the new crop from the South appears on the 

 market in competitive quantities. They are usually held in common 

 storage in those sections where the storage temperature can ordi- 

 narily be held sufficiently low. Carrots are sometimes held in cold 

 storage, although the prices obtained for them do not usually justify 

 this kind of storage. 



It is generally considered that very light freezing causes prac- 

 tically no injury to carrots, but they should be protected from 

 severe freezing and are best stored at a temperature of 32° F. They 

 are subject to wilting or drying out if the humidity is not fairly 

 high; for this reason they are more easily kept in a well-ventilated 

 cellar or bank storage. The relative humidity should be maintained 

 at 90 to 95 percent. 



Before being placed in storage, carrots should be topped and all 

 misshapen or injured specimens sorted out. The latter are especially 

 objectionable because their presence in a storage lot favors the de- 

 velopment of two serious diseases of stored carrots, namely, watery 

 soft rot and bacterial soft rot. Carrots are best kept in slat crates 

 or ventilated barrels, and allowance for air circulation should be 

 made between the containers. 



Bunch carrots may be stored for a week to 10 days and the tops 

 still retain a fresh appearance if they are not crowded in storage 

 and the tops are free from surface moisture. 



CAULIFLOWER 

 (Temperature, 32° F. ; relative humidity, 85 to 90 percent) 



Cauliflower is not usually kept in storage ; however, an oversupply 

 in the market can be stored to await more favorable conditions. 

 Experiments have shown that cauliflower can be held satisfactorily 

 for 2 to 3 weeks at 32° F. 



CELERY 

 (Temperature, 31° to 32° F. ; relative humidity, 90 to 95 percent) 



Much of the late celery grown in the Northern States, notably New 

 York and Michigan, is put into cold storage to supply the market up 

 to the period in late winter when the competition of new celery from 

 the South renders further holding unprofitable. Considerable celery 

 from Florida is also put into cold storage toward the end of the 

 shipping season from that State and held to supply the market dur- 

 ing the summer, or until supplies of early, northern-grown stock 

 appear on the market. 



Celery is a rather perishable commodity and under unsuitable stor- 

 age conditions may suffer severely from the disease known as watery 

 soft rot. This disease originates in the field and is caused by a 

 fungus that is able to develop to some extent even at temperatures of 



