18 MISC. PUBLICATION 3 4 0, IT. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



greater percentage late in the season it is believed by receivers to 

 indicate overmaturity. 



WATER BERRY 



Grapes affected with water berry are soft and watery and so low in 

 sugar content that the hydrometer test on bunches showing a large 

 proportion of them may run 5 to 10 percent below the usual figure for 

 the variety. They are easily cracked or crushed by the handling 

 incident to picking and packing, and are therefore thought to produce 

 conditions favorable to decay during the process of marketing. 

 Affected berries may occur anywhere in the bunch but are found most 

 frequently at or near the lower end of the bunch or at the tips of the 

 laterals of the bunch. The varieties most often affected are Malaga, 

 Sultanina, Emperor, and Flame Tokay. 



A condition occurring in Carignanes and sometimes referred to as 

 overmaturity bears some resemblance to water berry. Affected ber- 

 ries are soft and flabby and when pulled from the bunch and squeezed 

 their contents are found to be in an almost liquid condition that 

 suggests decay. However, such berries have no particularly dis- 

 agreeable taste although they are usually low in sugar content. 



The condition known as red berry in the Zinfandel, Cornichon, 

 Mission, and other black varieties shows all the characteristics 

 described for water berry except that affected grapes have a dull-red 

 color instead of the black or blue black that is normal for the variety. 

 Red berry is easily recognizable in the vineyard. 



The cause of grapes becoming watery and failing to develop into 

 firm crisp berries is unknown. Growers have observed, however, 

 that firmer, better storage grapes are produced if the vines are not 

 too heavily loaded. In growing Sultanina grapes, firmer, larger, 

 and more attractive fruit can be obtained by tliinning the bunches 

 on the vine, and the berries on the bunch, removing the tips of the 

 bunches where most water berry occurs, and by girdling "the canes 

 upon which the fruit is borne. 



RASPBERRIES 



MOLD 



(Cladosporium sp.) 



Raspberries sometimes arrive on the market partly overgrown with 

 an olive to olive-green mold. The mold is most abundant on the 

 inside or cup of the berry but may also occur on the outside. It 

 causes little or no decay of the flesh, either in laboratory tests or in 

 commercial shipments, but, of course, renders affected fruit unfit for 

 consumption. 



Nothing is known of when or how infection occurs. Recommenda- 

 tions for control must therefore be based on the assumption that this 

 fungus, like others occurring on fruits, grows more slowly at low 

 than at high temperatures and requires some time to become estab- 

 lished. For fungi that behave in this way, control depends to a 

 large extent on careful handling, expeditious packing and shipment, 

 and temperatures of 40° to 45° F. en route to market. 



