COMMERCIAL STORAGE OE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 19 



or no bad effect on the flavor, texture, or appearance of the fruit. 

 Storage for longer periods is usually harmful to all of these characters. 

 The peaches lose their flavor and natural bright color and become 

 dry and mealy or wet and mushy. In either case they show marked 

 browning of the flesh, especially around the stone. The best storage 

 varieties and their maximum storage period are: Late Crawford, 4 

 weeks; Elberta and J. H. Hale, 3 to 4 weeks. Belle, Champion, 

 Hiley, and Carman are less desirable as storage varieties and cannot 

 be expected to hold up well even under optimum conditions for more 

 than 2 or 3 weeks (16, 17). 



PEARS 



(Temperature, Bartlett pears, 29° to 30° F.; fall and winter pears, 30° to 31°; relative humidity for all 



varieties, 85 to 90 percent) 



BARTLETT PEARS 



The successful storage of Bartlett pears (24, 25) depends not only 

 on the temperature and humidity in the storage room but also on the 

 condition of the fruit when stored. If the highest quality is to be 

 obtained, Bartlett pears for storage should not be removed from the 

 tree until the ground color begins to lighten and the lenticels have 

 corked over. If picked before reaching that stage, they have a marked 

 tendency to wilt, scald, and break down in storage. They also tend 

 to break down in storage if picked when too ripe. The most desirable 

 temperature for the storage of Bartlett pears is 30° to 31° F. The 

 relative humidity should range from 85 to 90 percent. The maximum 

 period for successful storage is 45 to 60 days. 



FALL AND WINTER PEARS 



For fall and winter varieties of pears (32, 33), such as Anjou, Bosc, 

 Clairgeau, Cornice, Easter Beurre, Hardy, Seckel, and Winter Nelis, 

 the most desirable storage temperature is 30° to 31° F. A relative 

 humidity of 85 to 90 percent is most commonly used. However, a 

 relative humidity of 90 to 95 percent is maintained in some pear storage 

 rooms in order to prevent shriveling. Such humidities are maintained 

 in connection with air velocities of 100 to 200 feet per minute. The 

 length of time for which it is safe to store these pears depends on the 

 variety and when it is picked and also on whether the fruit is shipped 

 directly to a consuming center and there stored or is stored at the 

 shipping point for a time and later shipped to market. Information 

 on these points is given in table 4. In using the table it should be 

 remembered that wide differences in keeping quality are often found 

 in pears from various producing sections of the country. 



The commonest and most serious decay of fall and winter pears in 

 storage is gray mold rot, caused by the fungus Botrytis, which is able 

 to spread from decaying to sound healthy fruit. It is frequently 

 called nest rot. Good control can usually be obtained by the use 

 of paper wrappers impregnated with copper (9). If Bosc pears are 

 held in cold storage beyond their season they do not ripen satisfac- 

 torily or they may not ripen at all. 



