be accounted for by delay between picking and storage or late picking 

 and storage of the apples. 



In the first year, although data are not presented, similar trends in 

 deterioration were observed for Delicious, Rome Beauty, and Stayman 

 varieties. Golden Delicious apples were picked and stored earlier 

 in the season than in the second year, so were of better quality. 

 Although they showed the least rot, they did have moderate softening 

 and considerable shriveling. Jonathan and Winesap were in poor 

 condition at the beginning and showed the most rot at each storage 

 interval. Softening and shriveling were also appreciable in these two 

 varieties. 



The immature apples of the Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty 

 varieties kept better than the mature apples of these varieties. 

 Deterioration in immature Delicious was slight, about the same degree 

 as in the mature, except for higher shriveling in the immature lots 

 stored at 40° F. for 7 months. Immature Stayman after 3 months had 

 less rot and more shriveling than mature, and at 40° storage, showed 

 less rot after 7 months, but the amount of softening and shriveling was 

 about the same in both immature and mature. 



These results reemphasize the need for picking at the proper time 

 and storing promptly under optimum conditions to obtain high quality 

 in apples. 



Histological observations 



Gross Structure of the Apple 



The principal parts of the apple, as described by Tukey and Young 

 (4-6) and as illustrated in figure 1 are skin, consisting of epidermis and 

 hypodermis; cortex; and core, consisting of pith, fleshy pericarp, and 

 cartilaginous pericarp. 



The skin contains deposits of cutin, waxes, and suberin (cork) 

 variously distributed to form a waterproofing coat. The cortex, pith, 

 and fleshy pericarp are composed predominantly of parenchyma, or 

 large, thin-walled, undifferentiated type cells, and make up the fleshy 

 portion of the apple, with cortex the dominant portion by volume. 



portion studied microscopica 



portion used for 

 palatability testing 

 and for chemical 

 analyses 



. epidermis 

 . hypodermi s 



SKIN 



cortex 



core line 

 pith 



fleshy pericarp t 

 vascular bundles 

 cartilaginous 

 pericarp, con- 

 taining seed 



FLESH 



5576-58 



Figure 1. — Schematic drawing of cross section of an apple. 



15 



