Right-time picking

Press, 24 February 1978, Page 6

Right-time picking

GARDENING

By

M. Lusty

It sometimes seems like an eternity before top fruit is ready for picking and eating. Often premature picking causes disappointment just as is possible from leaving it on too long that it becomes over mature. With very few ex-

ceptions, the finest flavoured fruit is that which has been allowed to ripen on the bush, vine or tree, and then it should be eaten as soon after picking as possible. Some fruit can be readily gauged for ripeness for eating but with

others it is more difficult. The pear p.'esents a typ--ical example of a fruit which can be perfection personified when picked at the correct time but can be either tasteless or displeasing when consumed prematurely or left on the tree too long. Skin colour is not a reliable guide to the condition of pears because many can be eaten ripe and “still be fairly green. Conversely by the time they are yellow, many pears are over-ripe. The ripening pear may

be gauged by a slight pressure of the thumb near the stalk end. If the flesh “gives,” the fruit <s ripe. Another test is the ease with which the fruit VARIETY Williams Bon Chretien Conference Doyenne du Cornice .. Packhams Triumph Winter Cole P. Barry ..

parts from the tree. The way to pick it is singly, with the hand around the fruit followed by an upward lifting motion. Fruit should never be grasped and pulled from the tree nor should it be pulled off in clusters. It should be placed, not ' dropped or thrown into the picking bag or box — bruised fruit goes off quickly and most certainly does not have a long storage life. . Some pears, predominantly the later varieties such as Beurre Hardy, Winter Cole and Packhams Triumph, are best picked before they are fully ripe. Fruit does not all ripen at the same time and pears ripen perhaps even more unevenly than do apples.

For this reason picking of dessert varieties such as Beurre Bose and Conference should be spread over a week or two and sometimes even longer, depending on the weather. The prematurely picked pear shrivels or goes “sleepy” in store and never attains its quality. Williams Bon Chretien, however, is one pear which must be watched closely as it has a very short or long duration are best held in a firm green which it can decline rapidly both on the tree and in storage. Pears for keeping for short or long duration are best held in a firm green condition. Full colour, flavour and juice are developed only when they are ripened at their optimum temperature which for most varieties is about 21 deg C. Papkhams Triumph will not ripen satisfactorily below 7 deg C.

At this temperature, most varieties will be eating ripe in three to five days. On the other hand, the ripening process can be slowed down by holding the pears in the refrigerator (not freezer). For each pear variety there is a minimum temperature below which the fruit will not ripen properly and develop full flavour, colour and juice. Williams Bon Chretien, c or example, has a minimum ripening temperature of 16 deg C. Packhams Triumph will not ripen satisfactorily below 7 deg C. However, such problems are more the concern of the commerical orchardist than us with our few case lots, if that. It is impossible to give ripening dates for pears, for, as with any other fruit many factors are influential in this direction with climatic conditions figuring very prominently. The following will provide some guidance:

RIPENING PERIOD STORAGE February A few days Early March Shortterm Later in March Shortterm Later in March Shortterm April Long April Long