Picking buckets rather than picking bags often are recommended to reduce 
bruising to a minimum (28, 93, 117). When 20-quart metal pails were used for 
picking apples, bruising and stem punctures amounted to about 10 percent; when 
canvas bags were used, the bruises and stem punctures amounted to nearly 78 
percent (95). Southwick and Hurd further suggested that a container with rigid 
sides protects the apples when the container comes in contact with ladder rungs 
and tree branches, They cautioned, however, that to the extent the canvas bot- 
tom protrudes below the metal sides of the pail, additional protection from 
bruising is lost. McMechan (65) reduced bruising through use of a padded alu- 
minum bucket. Among four types of picking containers, Hamer (45) found least 
bruising in metal buckets with flexible bottoms. Bruising was further reduced 
from 9,3 to 7 percent with buckets of the same design but made of fiberglass. 
In Pennsylvania, the type of picking container was less important than the way 
Eheypicker usedeit Cil7)': 
The Washington State Apple Commission developed an apple sampler and 
scoring system to improve picking care (13, 112, 113). The sampler is a canvas 
cover with a small bag attached. The cover fits over the top of a field box of 
apples so that the box can be tilted on one end. Twenty apples are counted from 
the box into the sample bag, some from the bottom of the box and some from the 
top to give a representative sample of the picker's work. The apples in the 
sample bag are examined one at a time as they are replaced in the box. A scor- 
ing card allows tabulation of bruises, punctures, stem pulls, and off-color. 
No calculations in the field are necessary. The sampler reduces the work of 
inspection of a box of apples about two-thirds. For one grower, the use of the 
apple sampler and tally system reduced bruises as much as 45 percent in one-half 
day. The system increased the quality scores of some picking crews about 7 
percent in 3 days. Burrell (13) has used an "Honor Roll" bonus system to secure 
bruise-free picking. He used the Washington sampler and one inspector per 20 
pickers. 
Many associations instruct their crew foremen to see that picking boxes 
and baskets are free of projecting nails. They also supply them with whisk- 
brooms to remove all sand, twigs, and splinters that might cause bruising (28). 
Little difference in bruising or stem punctures was found whether apples were 
dumped into padded or unpadded field boxes, but padding on the bottom of the 
field boxes reduced bruising from 52 to 38 percent when the apples were hauled 
from the orchard (119). Green (43) reported that foam plastic from bonded waste 
protected apples from bruising better than softer materials that deformed too 
readily. Field boxes should be filled less than level full to prevent bruising 
when the boxes are stacked (28). 
While the use of baskets in the orchard is rapidly becoming obsolete, 
they-still are used in some areas. The ehief difficulty in their use is that 
when stacked they cause more bruises on the fruit than boxes do, because of 
their less rigid construction. 6/ The more desirable baskets are those with a 
solid or built-up bottom. 
Krijgsman and DeRuiter (54) found that apples were less bruised when 
picked directly into a box raised on a stand than when they were picked into a 
pail. Clarke (21) studied picking directly into the final shipping container. 
This method requires careful selective picking .and close supervision, but less 
bruising and handling are the rewards. 
6/ U. S. Dept. Agr. Handling and Storage of Apples in Pallet Boxes. 
Gilms) Us S-Dept. Agr: Motion Picture Service, Washington, D. C. 
139 
