60 BULLETIN 1406, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



On the other hand, when cool weather is prevailing outdoors, fruit 

 in the open will cool more readily than- in storage. If apples can 

 be protected from rain and sunshine, it is well to leave them exposed 

 to the outdoor temperatures until thoroughly cooled before placing 

 in common storage. Unless such an outdoor storage is available, 

 however, it is preferable to remove the fruit rather promptly to the 

 storage rooms, leaving it standing outside overnight to cool as much 

 as possible. 



When the fruit has been placed in storage, careful attention should 

 be paid to the ventilation of the building in order to obtain the 

 lowest temperatures possible. A difference of even 3 or 4 degrees in 

 the temperature at which the fruit is held makes a marked difference 

 in the rate of softening of the fruit. The best results from handling 

 apples in air-cooled storage will be obtained by having a well- 

 ventilated storage room, by storing only varieties well adapted to 

 holding at relatively high temperatures, and by delaying the picking 

 of these varieties as long as possible. Varieties with a shorter storage 

 season can be held successfully for a relatively short time, but the 

 limitations of the different varieties should be clearly recognized. 

 "When particularly early-ripening seasons occur, as they do at inter- 

 vals in practically all apple-growing sections, it should be recognized 

 that common storage will prove less satisfactory than usual for the 

 fruit, and relatively more of it should be handled through cold 

 storages if they are available. When late-ripening seasons occur, 

 common storage will prove even more satisfactory than normal in 

 any particular section. 



HANDLING APPLES FOR COLD STORAGE 



In artificial cold storage temperature control is independent of 

 outside conditions, and if adequate refrigeration is available the 

 fruit can be cooled promptly to the temperature most desirable for 

 holding. Consequently, somewhat different considerations will pre- 

 vail relative to the handling of the fruit. 



TIME OF PICKING 



Apples for cold storage should be fairly well matured when they 

 are picked, both to obtain highest quality and appearance and to 

 reduce the occurrence of storage scald. The latter development can 

 be greatly reduced by the use of oiled paper (2, 3), but the control 

 will be more effective, particularly in barreled apples, if the fruit is 

 well matured when picked. The data in Figure 24 show that fairly 

 late picking does not result in more rapid softening in fruit held at 

 32° F, In general, apples for cold storage should not be picked, 

 before they show a decided yellow cast in the ground color or until 

 they are beginning to loosen on the tree. 



From the results that have been obtained, it seems fairly cer- 

 tain that a great many apples grown in the eastern section of the 

 United States are picked too early, either for common or cold stor- 

 age, to obtain best results. In cold storage, an equally firm fruit 

 of better color and flavor and with less tendency to scald will be 

 obtained from later picking than from that now generally prac- 



