White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-09-17
COLD STORAGE ESSENTIAL
SAYS ARMSTRONG

M. u. Armstrong, extension special
list at the state college, in the following
article gives some interesting inforIna-
ton and figures on the keeping quail
tiles of apples and how essential it is
to get them under ice as soon as pos
sible after they are taken from the
trees.
IAN important step I'M conserving
the quality necessary to sell our fruit
successfully is that of proper handling
and storage. Apples are constantly
ripening after they leave the trees.
Very slowly at 81 degrees and very
rapidly at 80 or 80 degrees. If we
consider that an apple ripens at a GER
tain rate at 81 degrees and call that
rate 100 per cent, then at so degrees
it will ripen at the rate of 800 per cent;
at so degrees 600 per cent or six times
as fast; at 70 degrees 100 per cent or
ten times as fast; at 30 degrees 100
per cent or IL times as fast; at 90 de-
gress 3400 per cent or "a times as fast.
can apple kept for one day at 70
degrees, after picking will lose 10 days
of it's life in cold storage and in three
days 1t will lose month. Is 1t any
wonder that many of our apples have
more of the flavor of pumkins than of
apples when they reach the consumer?
Apples that are to be shipped any
great distance before being consumed,
should be placed attonce IN cold storage.
The warmer the weather at harvesting
the more important is the question of
storage. The qualities lost in few
days or hours of storage at high tenn
perature can never be regained by
cold storage later. Rapid cooling after
picking is important.
"Not all growers have cold storage
available, and here rapid handling in
Harvest temperatures frequently reach
80 degrees during the afternoon. If
the fruit is carried at once to the COM
mon storage with this heat in it, 1t
is very slow to cool off and will de-
teriorate very rapidly. Under such
conditions it is much better to leave
the fruit out in the orchard till morn
ing. The night air will carry off from
20 to 40 degrees Of heat which will be
better than any common storage house
could do. Hauling the fruit to storage
in the early hours of the morning is
one way to keep the temperature down
in the storage house.
Another important point is this.
Apples ripen faster in box under the
tree or in warm storage than on the
tree. Growers who do not have cold
storage or good common storage
availible should nbt pick faster than
they can be packed.
"A striking demonstration Of the
value of immediate cold storage was
made by your experiment station a
couple of years ago. Jonathan apples
which were picked and placed imn,edi-
ately in cold storage did not ripen
sufficiently to be of good eating quail
ity until about December 1, and they
continued in excellent condition until
about January IS. A second lot Of
Jonathan apples were kept at high
orchard temperatures for about three
days and then placed in cold storage.
These apples ripened 10 much during
the first three days after picking that
their eating qualities were lost by early
November.
Quality is the greatest factor in
increasing the sale of any commodity.
The Northwest apple grower and deal
er must deliver to the consumer more
Of the fine qualities with whicn nature
has filled his fruit. Northwest apples
will then have greater reputation
for their real eating qualities as well
az for their beautiful color"