The Wilmington morning star., 1940-04-29
CAREFUL TOMATO
HANDLING URGED
chould Be Harvested And
Packed As Rapidly As Con-
sistent With Practices
AZ GUY A. CARDWELL
General Agricultural Agent

Atlantic Coast Line halirOad 20.
In view of the heavy tomato acre.
900 in prospect in the Carolinas
,%;s season, | am reissuing a tomato
rtic,e circulated last year shortly
=, advance of the shipping season:
tomatoes grown under the best
,onditions are highly perishable and
should be harvested and packed as
,,onidly as consistent with careful
handling practices. In the green
.rage they seem firm and will ap.
rorentlv stand a considerable
mount of rough handling. but the
Jamage becomes apparent in the
,,arkets after the fruit has ripened.
AIRS sions or bruises that are
scarcely noticeable on a mature
Green fruit are likely to appear as
5ork.brown or black unsightly spots
II the market. Bruises and mechan-
icallv injured rea also provide all
easy entrance for disease organisms
and every effort should be directed
,oward lessening the opportunity
for such infection. In many sections
harvesting is done by laborers who
are Indifferent to these points. Even
some well.informed growers and
shippers often fail to give proper
attention to the maintenance of a
individuality product. In their eff.
fort to handle a large acreage they
overlook the fact that profits often
depend more upon quality than
upon quantity.
The proper stage of maturity at
which tomatoes should be picked
DEFENDS to a large extent on the dis.
lance from the markets. Three def.
mite stages of maturity are recog.
Dized commercially - mature-green.
mink and ripe. Tomatoes reach q
stage Of maturity on the vine that
will insure ripening several days be.
fore n pink or red develops on the
surface. Fruit that is to be shipped
long distances to market therefore
is uSudlI! plChcu III tiO "oIoAS
green stage and shipped without
refrigeration.
M~ature-green tomatoes or green
wraps as they are sometimes call
ed, comprise the bulk Of the ship
ments from the Carolinas. At this
stage the tomato is almost fully
grown and the interior ripening
processes are well under way. The
characteristic red color usually de.
velops on some of the tomatoes dur
inc the transit period. A large per-
centage of green-wrap stock arrives
in the market without a trace OF
red color. and ever when held in
Iipening rooms for several days at
a temperature from 20 to Is degrees
F. many tomatoes do not develop
normal color. Usually the fault lies
with the pickers, who, in depending
on size as the principal indication
Of maturity. pick the fruit before
it is sufficiently developed. Also
there is a tendency on the part of
many shippers at the beginning OF
the season to ship green tomatoes
before they are mature, hoping they
will get TOP prices before tomatoes
become more plentiful. Often the re.
verse is true and they fail to get re.
peat orders from a dissatisfied re-
ceiver who may have been put to
Sreat inconvenience In ripening and
dlsposing Of the shipment.
No definite rules have been estab-
lished for determining the proper
maturity Of tomatoes for shipment
in the mature-green stage. However.
according to the requirements OF
The United States standards for fresh
tomatoes, a tomato is considered
mature when the seed cavities have
developed a jelly-like or glue.like
consistency and the seeds are we'll
developed. In the practical test a
sharp knife should be used and the
tomato cut crosswise Of the seed
cells. If the pulp that surrounds the
seeds has become iellylike and the
seeds give way before the edge OF
Inc knife and are not cut In slicins
Inc tomato is considered to be ma
l1re enough to be shipped. For
some varieties the presence Of a
ilsht color Of whitish area on the
blossom end Of the fruit is consider
&c a fairly reliable index Of picking
maturity, as it is the age that de
lermines development.
The careful foreman, before is
sung instructions to the picking
crew, usually selects a number Of
tomatoes and after slicing them tt
oetermine the relation of the exter'
nal characteristics to the stage Of
maturity, bases his instructions tc