HANDLING APPLES FROM TREE TO TABLE 



23 



Jonathan spot is a physiological or functional trouble. It occurs to 

 some extent on highly colored apples left on the tree until they become 

 overripe, but primarily it is a storage disease that is most serious on 

 apples held in warm places. Ordinarily its presence is an indication that 

 the apples are ripe or well advanced toward full ripeness and that their 

 further storage life is not long. It can be prevented almost entirely by 

 picking the apples at the proper stage of maturity and storing them 

 promptly at a temperature of 30° to 32° F. The greater the delay in 

 reaching cold storage the more serious the disease. Storage at tempera- 

 tures higher than 30° to 32° tends to increase the severity of the disease. 



WATER CORE 



Water core is a functional disease that appears in the apples before 

 harvest and gives the flesh a water-soaked, or glassy, appearance, re- 





#r 



■A 





Figure 11. — A, Water core, characterized by a glassy, or water-soaked, appearance 

 of the flesh around the core or main vascular bundles. Such affected apples are pre- 

 disposed to internal breakdown. B, Internal breakdown, characterized by a general 

 mealiness and brownish discoloration of the flesh. C, Soft scald, which makes apples 

 look as if they might have been rolled on a hot stove. D, Soggy breakdown, which 

 is brought about by causes similar to those which produce soft scald. 

 947960—51—4 



