Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-09-29
APPLE GROWERS ARE STRONGLY
ADVISED TO Use COLD STORAGE
Department of Agriculture Tells of Method for
Keeping Apples and Prolonging Marketing
Period-Especally Useful in View Of Inter-
ference with European Market for American
Fruit

Washington, Sept. 2S-In view of
the interference with the European
market and the large production OF
American apples this season, special
lists of the Department of Agriculture
call the attention of apple growers to
the advantages OF cold storage for
steadying the market at harvest ana
for lenethening the selling period
Cutting of the market will result, it
is feared, in many thousands of bar
rels of good apples rotting in the or
chard or being disposed OF at prices
which figure a net loss to the grower.
The following are the directions Civ
en- by the apple handling specialists of
the Department for using cold storage
successfully in handling apples:
The proper function of cold storage
is to retard the ripening processes of
the fruit and the development of de-
cay organisms and skin blemishes. The
first responsibility for the keeping
quality of his fruit rests with the
grower since it is his growing and
handling methods that largely deter
mine its vitality, freedom from dis
ease, and general condition when
stored Cold storage is not a remedy,
or a restorative for poorly developed,
weak, imperfect fruit but is the most
effective method of preserving the
quality. flavor and appearance pos
sessed by the fruit at time of picking.
The first step in successful cold
storage of apples has been found to
lie in the practice of such cultural,
spraying and pruning methods as in
sure production of sound, healthy well
colored fruit, free from disease. AS
Stunning this as the first requisite. the
following factors have been found to
most influence the keeping quality OF
the fruit, and furnish best conditions
for long storage:
1. Proper maturity at time of pick
ing.
2. Care in all handling operations.
g. Prompt storage after picking.
4. A proper storage temperature.
Maturity Tests.
Careful and extensive Investigations
have demonstrated that fruit picked at
full maturity can be held for longer
period in storage, and is less affected
when somewhat immature. Two i'm
portant commercial varieties, Rome
Beauty and Winesap, have been found
to be especially susceptible to seald
during storage, if picked prematurely.
There is no doubt that several thous-
and dollars are lost to the industry
each year through the improper pick
ing of these two varieties alone. The
results emphasize strongly that more
care and attention should be paid to
this detail of the harvesting opera
lions than is'usually the case.
BY full maturity. however. is not
meant over maturity. which may
cause fully as heavy losses as imma-
turity Each grower should study his
own fruit and his own conditions in
order to determine the proper picking
stage. Probably the most reliable
single indication of maturity is the
whitening or slight yellowing of the
ground color of the fruit. This is the
color underlying the blush or red col
or and should not be confused with
the latter.
Careful Handling.
Care in all handling operations is
the second important requisite of sue
cessful storage A class of fungi, of
which the common blue mold is an
example, are known to be unable to
attack and cause decay of healthy, I'M
injured fruit. In spite of this fact,
very serious roots both in storage and
in transit to market are the work of
fungi of this type, and the largest con-
tributory cause in all cases is bruising
or skin breaking suffered by the fruit
in the picking and packing operations.
Microscopic bruises and breaks in the
skin are large enough to afford en-
trance to the spores of these fungi and
the necessity for the utmost care in
all operations connected WITH the
handling of the fruit to avoid bruis-