HANDLING APPLES FROM TREE TO TABLE 19 



Table 2.— Comparison of injuries to apples picked into bags and into buckets 1 



Orchard 



Picking container 



Not injured 



Slightly 

 bruised 



Badly 

 bruised 



Skin- 

 punctured 



A .. 



Bag 



Percent 

 34.1 

 96.1 

 30.1 

 92.5 



Percent 

 13.9 

 2.3 

 24.2 



7.1 



Percent 

 50.2 

 1.3 

 41.2 



.3 



Percent 



1.8 



B.__ 



Bucket .. .... .. 



.3 



C 



/Bag 



4.5 



\Bucket 







1 Unpublished data obtained by R. R. Pailthorp, senior marketing specialist, Agricultural Marketing 

 Administration. 



The apples with slight bruises (table 2) would not be discrim- 

 inated against on the market, for all such bruises were small and 

 shallow and did not damage the outward appearance or the keeping 

 quality of the fruit; however, even slight bruises show up rather 

 prominently when an apple is peeled (fig. 5, B). The bad bruises and 

 skin punctures, on the other hand, were serious hazards to the keeping 

 quality of th? apples. Even if they did not decay, consumers would 

 be dissatisfied with them because so much of the fruit would be unfit 

 to eat. Skin-punctured apples are generally regarded as culls be- 

 cause it is well known that they are likely to become infected with blue 

 mold and in consequence are suitable for immediate use only. It is not 



Figure 8. — Use of adequate grading and sizing machinery, an important factor 

 in the reduction of bruising. All the sorters should wear gloves. 



