Blanpied, Ludington, and Potter (9) found no difference in bruising 
between field crates and bulk boxes during handling of McIntosh apples, if the 
bulk boxes were only 20 inches deep. With 30-inch deep bulk boxes there were 38 
percent more bruised McIntosh than with field crates. O'Brien (54) concluded 
that a 24-inch inside depth was best to minimize transit damage of fruit and 
for stacking 7 boxes high. Johnson (42) and Hall and Mellor (34) have described 
bulk handling of apples in Australia, ~ Bulk boxes have been adapted for export 
use. 
Handling Equipment in the Packinghouse 
Continued expansion in the use of new mechanical equipment for handling 
apples is noteworthy. The advantages and disadvantages of mechanical versus 
manual handling were listed by Blanpied, Markwardt, and Ludington (11). It is 
common for one man with mechanical equipment to do the work of three or four 
men handling fruit manually. Fruit can be brought into the packinghouse or 
directly into storage faster with mechanical equipment, and usually it is in 
better condition after storage. Smith, Wright, and Adams (63) have pointed out 
that any bruising opens lenticels providing an entrance for decay-producing 
spores. Scott (62) in Ohio found that two-thirds of the Delicious and four- 
fifths of the Stayman apples were bruised to some degree on arrival at the 
packing shed, 
Carlsen, Hunter, Duerden, and Herrick (16) found that modern mechanized 
equipment can move fruit more rapidly after harvest and place it in refriger- 
ated storage sooner. Considerable storage life was often lost from fruit by 
older, slower methods of loading, receiving, and stowing fruit. Mechanical 
equipment makes it easier to move fruit out of the sun, wind, or rain and into 
storage, Various types of materials-handling equipment for apple packinghouses 
Rave been evaluated" by numerous researchers (97912713 )-15, "16,926, 928532533, 
37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 50, 51, 53, 56, 57, 66, 69). The volume of 
fruit to be handled is an important consideration in determining whether such 
equipment would be economical (67). Levin and Gaston (46) listed and described 
many pieces.of mechanical equipment, such as pallets, lifts, dumpers, and con- 
veyors for handling deciduous fruits. The use of forklifts not only reduces 
the number of individual handlings but eliminates many of the damaging jolts 
and drops to which filled crates are often subjected. 
Dumping apples from field containers onto the grading and packing line 
is a source of much potential damage (11). Evans and Marsh (26) found that 
hand dumping increased bruising 27 to 50 percent if done carelessly. Modern 
mechanical drum dumpers caused only 2 to 8 percent bruising. A simple hand- 
operated mechanical aid for dumping field crates was developed by Levin and 
Gaston (43). This dumper took most of the lift out of the job and a padded 
hinged cover regulated the flow of fruit, Dumping onto belts causes less 
damage than dumping into a bin (11). Blanpied, Markwardt, and Ludington (11) 
state that automatic bushel-box dumpers, washers, driers, and automatic box 
fillers frequently cause more damage than the equipment used for sorting, 
sizing, and accumulating. 
Several reports have described the use of bulk-box dumpers (9, 10, 33, 
45, 50, 57). Mechan and Fisher (50) tested 25-bushel bulk boxes having a depth 
of 24 inches. McIntosh apples dumped from these bulk boxes suffered less 
bruising and less stem punctures than dumping from field crates. Damage in 
dumping obviously is closely associated with type of equipment used, as well as 
25 
