CIRCULAR No. 278 



Issued September 1933 

 Slightly revised January 1934 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 



THE COMMERCIAL STORAGE OF FRUITS, VEGE- 

 TABLES, AND FLORISTS' STOCKS 



By Dean H. Rose, senior physiologist, R. C. Wright, physiologist, and T. M. 

 Whiteman, junior horticulturist, Division of Fruit and Vegetable Crops and 

 Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry 



CONTENTS 



Introduction 1 



Factors Involved in cold storage 2 



Effect of cold storage on subsequent be- 

 havior of fruits and vegetables 8 



Fruits and nuts 10 



Apples. 11 



Apricots 12 



Bananas 12 



Blackberries 12 



Cherries 13 



Cranberries.- 13 



Dewberries 13 



Grapefruit 13 



Grapes 14 



Lemons 15 



Logan blackberries 15 



Oranges 15 



Peaches 16 



Pears 16 



Plums (including prunes) 18 



Quinces 18 



Raspberries 18 



Strawberries 18 



Dried fruits 18 



Frozen fruits 19 



Nuts 19 



Vegetables 20 



Asparagus 20 



Beans 21 



Beets 21 



Broccoli (Italian or sprouting) 22 



Cabbage 22 



Carrots.. 23 



Cauliflower 23 



Page 

 -Continued 



Celery—. 23 



Corn (green) 24 



Cucumbers 24 



Eggplants. 25 



Endive or escarole 25 



Garlic (dry) 25 



Horseradish 25 



Jerusalem artichoke 25 



Leeks (green.) 26 



Lettuce 26 



Melons 26 



Onions and onion sets 27 



Parsnips— 28 



Peas (green) 28 



Peppers 28 



Potatoes. 29 



Pumpkins 30 



Radishes (winter) 30 



Rhubarb 30 



Rutabagas 30 



Salsify 30 



Spinach 31 



Squashes 31 



Sweetpotatoes 31 



Tomatoes 31 



Turnips 32 



Cut flowers, florists' greens, rhizomes, tubers, 



corms, and bulbs 32 



Cut flowers. 33 



Florists' greens 36 



Rhizomes, tubers, and corms 36 



Bulbs 37 



Literature cited. 37 



INTRODUCTION 



The purpose of this circular is to present a series of brief sum- 

 maries of the essential average storage requirements of most of 

 the more important varieties of fresh fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, 

 and certain other perishable commodities which enter the market 

 on a commercial scale. Many details are of necessity omitted, as 

 the work is intended primarily for general practical reference. The 

 conditions given should not be considered as absolute or final, but 

 rather as the safe limitations under which the various products can 

 ordinarily be stored. Detailed information on the handling and 

 storage of some of the commodities discussed is available elsewhere 



22618°— 34 1 1 



