, J-C, 



Circular no. 713 



October 1944 • Washington, D. C. 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



*tZ h 



Freezing Injury of Fruits and VegfctaBle% 





By D. H. Rose, senior physiologist, R. C. Wright, physiologist, and C^_ 

 Bratley, pathologist, Division of Fruit and Vegetable Crops and Diseases', 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, Agricul- 

 tural Research Administration 



CONTENTS 



Page 

 Severity of injury dependent on tem- 

 perature and its duration 2 



Methods of protecting fresh fruits and 



vegetables against freezing 2 



Length of time required for freezing 



to occur 4 



Apples 5 



Asparagus 11 



Lima beans 11 



Snap beans 11 



Bunch beets 12 



Sprouting broccoli 12 



Cabbage 12 



Carrots 13 



Cauliflower 14 



Celery 14 



Green corn 14 



Cucumbers 15 



Eggplant 15 



Page 

 Length of time required for freezing 

 to occur — Continued. 



Lemons .* 15 



Lettuce 16 



Onions and garlic 16 



Oranges and grapefruit 17 



Parsnips 19 



Peas 20 



Peppers 20 



Potatoes 20 



Rutabagas 22 



Spinach 23 



Squashes 23 



Sweetpotatoes 24 



Tomatoes 24 



Turnips 24 



Rates of cooling of fruits and vege- 

 tables 25 



Freezing not always injurious to 



produce 28 



IN THE HANDLING, STORAGE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

 of fresh fruits and vegetables, it frequently becomes neces- 

 sary to protect them against freezing or to care for them and 

 determine whether they are usable after they have frozen. How to 

 deal with both of these problems is of importance to a great many 

 people, including officials of the Army and Navy responsible for 

 perishable produce destined for the armed forces, market inspec- 

 tors, employees of railroad and truck companies, market receivers 

 and distributors, and cold-storage operators. It seems desirable, 

 therefore, to summarize the information now available on the sub- 

 ject, in order to keep preventable loss and damage to a minimum 

 and so help to conserve food materials that are so essential to the 

 war effort. This circular presents the results of observations on 

 the market and of experimental investigations at controlled 

 temperatures 7° to 18° F. below the freezing point of water. 



