HANDLING APPLES FROM TREE TO TABLE 6 



slowing down its rate of growth; and when the tree is so stimulated 

 that it makes abnormally fast growth, the fruit grows vigorously and 

 may become overgrown and punky. As the fruit grows it accumulates 

 the" various constituents which finally characterize a mature apple. 

 Not all of these constituents are accumulated at the same rate, and only 

 at maturity is the final desirable balance reached. As the apple grows, 

 the fleshy part becomes essentially a reservoir for the materials upon 

 which its potential storage life depends. These are chiefly carbo- 

 hydrates, malic acid, water, small amounts of aromatic materials 

 highly important in determining flavor, and vitamins and minerals 

 important in determining dietetic value. As the apple approaches 

 maturity, it continues to increase in size but loses acidity and increases 

 in sweetness. The carbohydrates in the flesh of a green or immature 

 apple are largely starch, which is almost all converted into sugar as 

 the fruit ripens. Ripening may occur either before or after harvest 

 and is accompanied by a softening of the flesh and an increase in 

 juiciness and aroma. 



Some of the sugar, a relatively small proportion, converted from 

 starch in the apple is used in respiration, being broken down to carbon 

 dioxide and water, which are given off to the atmosphere. The acidity 

 is, however, reduced to a much greater extent during ripening than 

 is the sugar ; hence, the flavor becomes progressively more characterless 

 and less desirable as the apple is held beyond its normal storage season. 

 Everyone knows that if an apple is left on the tree or held in storage 

 too long it eventually becomes mealy, flavorless, and soft. When the 

 life processes of the fruit are carried so far that pectic materials finally 

 dissolve out of the cell walls, permitting the cells to separate easily, 

 the mealiness that characterizes the texture of overripe apples is pro- 

 duced. What remains at the end is an apple in the last stages of senil- 

 ity, entirely unsuitable for market and undesirable for either culinary 

 or dessert use. Therefore, while it is essential to allow the fruit to 

 become mature before harvest in order to develop best quality, the 

 ripening for the most part should occur after harvest in order to insure 

 good storage and market quality. 



Criteria of Maturity 



The most generally used criteria of maturity are ease of separa- 

 tion of the fruit from the spur, ground color, and firmness of the fruit 

 {9). 1 However, none of these is entirely dependable under all 

 conditions. 



EASE of separation from the spur 



When an apple is ready to pick, it can be separated from the spur 

 without breaking the stem merely by lifting it in the hand with or 

 without a slight rotating movement. Since the attachment of the 

 fruit to the spur is like a hinge, picking should be an unhinging 

 process. Instead of picking the fruit in this way inexperienced or 

 careless pickers often pull the fruit from its attachment. This usually 

 results in breaking the spurs, which cuts down the bearing surface and 

 reduces succeeding crops, or in pulling out the stem of the apple and 

 tearing the flesh, which open the way for decay to start. 



1 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, p. 39. 



