Imperial Valley press., 1923-02-07


when picked from the tree should
not bG considered as dead ard inert.
Fruit after harvest is still living, so
to speak, and remains alive for Il
longer or shorter period Of time, de
pending upon the conditions that
surround il. Fruit respires, or to
use more common expression,
" breathe" and takes in oxygen
and gives off carbon dioNidc and n
small amount of water vapor as do
all other living parts of plants. Fur
5hcrmorc there are other motabolic
activities, as a result Of which the
tissues. or flesh of the fruit gradu-
ally breaks down, gets dry or soft
and decay sets in.
Object of Storing Fruit
One way of checking these meta
bolic or living processes or changes
and of delaying the final breaking
down of the fruit, is to place the
fruiS at low temperatures OF about
30 degrees F. Furthermore, cold
storage temperatures prevent the
growth and spread of rot organisms
The value OF employing preceding
or cold storage in the marketing Of
fruit, would therefore, be in pro
longing the life of the frui,t ana
thereby extending the period Of ma
reliability or edibleness.
For example, the placing tcmpora-
rily of part OF the crop Of pears in
cold storage, to remove that portion
from the market, as it does not com
pete with the remainder, might well
become 4 growing practice. AS a
matter Of fact it would be practical
ly impossible to markc! tine present
apple crop Of the United States
without great loss to both the grow
ers and consumers. except for the
aid of cold storage.
Increased Utilization Of Cold Storage
1T is obvious that g practice which
prolongs the marketing period of
any seasonal commodity has great
influence upon its distribution.
The possibility Of storing fruit
Las had an important influence on
leading commercial varieties. For
Merly only few of very late apples,
for example, were available Cor dis
tribut;on during late winter months
and early spring.
Under present systems of handl-
ing through storage, however, it is
possible to prolong the life Of the
more delicate and higher quality va.
ricties and in this way greatly stimu.
late demand, out of season not only
for apples, but for the more quickly
jpcrishable fruits, such rs pears and
pluns. The very quickly pcrishablc
fruits however, such as strawber
ries, cherries, apricots arc not gen
orally held in storage except over
wcckends or for brief periods dur.
ing ovcrstocked markets.
Local VS.. Distance Storage.
Cold storage plants were formerly
situated near the larger markets
in recent wears, however. there has
been a growing tendency toward,
the establishment OF cold-storagC
plants i'll REGIONS of production
Storage at point of origin hac sever,
al advantages. BY Keeping fruit
here the shipper or grower is not
committed to any particular nor,
ket, but may hold his fruit or ship
20 such market rs he may see fit.
by holding n portion OF the crol
in regions of production, the strain
on transportation facilities 1T har.
vest time is very materially reduced
Storage for at least half the crop
particularly in areas of large pro
dUction seems to he recognized as
a necessary provision in the ease
Of apples.
One other advantage in home stor.
age is that the evidences of trouble
such as development Of scalds and
spots and the deterioration in st0r.
age, may be brought home more
torcihly to the grower.
If, however, the grower or shipper
has well established market, il
may be advisable to store his fruit
IN or near that markct rathnr than
hold it at point of origin. In this
way his product is available fo1
quick delivery under favorable mar.
ket conditions i'll quantities to meet
the demand and is not exposed to
the dangers incident to traffic.
Preceding Perishable Fruits.
The term 'pre-cooling" may be
considered as referring to the re.
duction of the temperature of the
fruit very soon after harvesting and
before it is placed in cold storage
proper, and more especially before
1t is loaded into refrigerator ears