56 BULLETIN 1406, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 



districts with longer growing seasons, however, these same varieties 

 ripen early while temperatures are still high and consequently 

 are unsatisfactory for common-storage holding. The best holding 

 varieties in these latter districts include Yellow Newtown, Wine- 

 sap, York Imperial, Arkansas Black, and Arkansas {Mammoth 

 Black Twig). Eome Beauty, Stayman Winesap, and Ben Davis 

 will give results much less satisfactory than the first list. Other 

 varieties, including Grimes Golden, Jonathan, and Delicious in the 

 long growing season districts and Rhode Island Greening, Tomp- 

 kins King, Wealthy, and Mcintosh in the districts of shorter grow- 

 ing seasons, will become full soft in a relatively short time when 

 exposed to temperatures prevailing in common storages at the pick- 

 ing season. 



The data in Part II indicate that the group of varieties best 

 adapted to common-storage holding in the districts with long grow- 

 ing seasons are inherently somewhat slower ripening in storage 

 than the varieties generally grown in the northern districts. Thus 

 Winesap, York Imperial, Arkansas Black, and Yellow Newtown 

 ripen somewhat less rapidly at any given temperature than most 

 varieties grown in the northern sections when held at the same 

 temperature. Since these varieties are particularly adapted to sec- 

 tions having a long growing season they tend to overcome in part 

 the advantage of cooler weather at picking time in the northern 

 districts. Varieties like Ben Davis and Gano, however, when 

 grown in the northern districts are generally very hard at picking 

 time and soften slowly even in common storage. Although varie- 

 ties which normally require a long growing season will not develop 

 high quality and good size in the northern sections, they do pro- 

 duce fruit which will usually hold in remarkably good condition 

 in common storage. 



TIME OF PICKING APPLES FOR COMMON STORAGE 



In Part I it was pointed out that the rate of softening of apples 

 while they remain on the tree is relatively slow. Consequently, it 

 was planned to determine whether apples ripen faster following 

 removal from the tree than while remaining attached to the tree 

 if held under similar temperature conditions. Tests of this kind 

 have been conducted at Wenatchee, Wash., Hall, N. Y., and Ross- 

 lyn, Va. At the time of picking, the fruit was tested in the usual 

 manner to determine its firmness. One lot was then picked and 

 left in baskets or boxes in the crotch of the tree from which it had 

 been removed. At intervals, the firmness of the fruit remaining 

 on the tree and of that held in the boxes was determined. Some 

 of these data are shown graphically in Figure 29. 



It is apparent that all varieties studied softened much faster 

 following removal from the tree and while held in the orchard at 

 prevailing temperatures than while remaining attached to the tree. 

 There was an initial period following picking when practically no 

 softening occurred in fruit held in the orchard, just as was noted 

 in the fruit held in different controlled temperatures of storage: 

 Following this initial period, however, the fruit softened rather 

 rapidly, and at the end of an interval of three weeks it was always 

 much softer than the fruit remaining on the tree from which it 



