COMMERCIAL STORAGE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 11 



Northern Spy, Baldwin, and Rhode Island Greening grown in the 

 Cumberland-Shenandoah Valley district or in the hot, irrigated 

 valleys of the Pacific Northwest are very short-lived in storage, 

 although suitable for all-winter storage when grown in New Eng- 

 land, New York, Michigan, and other northern producing districts. 



The keeping quality of apples in storage is also definitely related 

 to the cultural and orchard sanitation practices of the grower, who 

 alone is responsible for the production of sound, properly matured 

 fruit. To have good keeping quality, apples should be fully grown 

 and well-colored. When they have reached this stage, they are less 

 likely to scald in storage and are in better condition generally to be 

 held in storage for the maximum period than if they are either imma- 

 ture or overmature. 



To insure soundness and good keeping quality, apples must be not 

 only properly grown and at the proper stage of maturity, they 

 should also be handled in all the operations of picking, grading, 

 packing, and hauling with that degree of care necessary to prevent 

 serious bruising, skin punctures, or other mechanical injuries; and 

 they should be stored as quickly as possible after they are picked. 



Apples intended for storage should not be handled while frozen, if 

 such handling can possibly be avoided. Water core does not develop 

 or spread in storage, and in varieties such as Yellow Newtown and 

 Winesap it may actually disappear after a few months' storage, especi- 

 ally if present only in a mild form. When large portions of the flesh 

 are affected, especially in soft-textured varieties like Jonathan, 

 Delicious, Stayman Winesap, and Rome Beauty, there is danger of 

 subsequent break-down, and prompt disposal of the fruit is advisable. 

 The diseases of apples in storage are discussed in Farmers' Bulletin 

 1160 (4) and Miscellaneous Publication 168 (37). 



For the storage of most varieties of apples the best results are 

 obtained by maintaining a temperature of 31° to 32° F., and a relative 

 humidity of 85 to 88 percent. Yellow Newtown apples from the 

 Pajaro Valley, Calif., should be held at 35° to 38° rather than at 32°, 

 to prevent the development of internal browning or brown core. 

 Grimes Golden apples that are intended for early marketing should 

 be held at 35° to 38° instead of at 32°, in order to obtain better quality 

 and avoid soggy break-down. 



If air-cooled storage is used, the temperature obtainable will usually 

 not be much lower than the average of the prevailing outside tempera- 

 tures. The nearer this is to 32° the better. 



The length of time apples can be held successfully in cold storage 

 will vary with the variety, with the district where grown, as well as 

 with their condition when harvested. The following data show about 

 how much time different varieties, as grown in regions to which they 

 are best adapted, require to reach full eating-soft condition when 

 picked at proper maturity and stored immediately at 32° F. 



Variety Months 



Mcintosh 2 to 4 



Grimes Golden 2 to 4 



Jonathan 3 to 4 



Tompkins King 4 to 5 



Northern Spy 4 to 6 



Esopus Spitzenburg 4 to 6 



Ben Davis 5 to 6 



King David 5 to 6 



Delicious 5 to 6 



Variety Months 



Rome Beauty 5 to 6 



Baldwin 5 to 7 



Rhode Island Greening 6 to 7 



Stayman Winesap 6 to 7 



Arkansas 6 to 7 



York Imperial 6 to 7 



Yellow Newtown 6 to 8 



Winesap 7 to 8 



