AMERICAN METHODS WITH FRUIT

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 296, 13 September 1927, Page 10

AMERICAN METHODS WITH FRUIT

INVESTIGATIONS BY AUSTRALIAN Dominion Special Service. Auckland, September 12. America is faced with a great surplus of fruit, according to Mr. W. Ranger, who. is returning to Sydney by the Niagara after investigating-fruit marketing methods in the United States on behalf of the Australian Government. Mr. Ranger concentrated on the technique of banana ripening and transhipment and the preparation and packing of citrus fruit. The utilisation of surplus fruit was another avenue of investigation. An outstanding feature of the treatment of citrus fruit in the United. States, said Mr. Ranger, was the use of borax as a disinfectant. Lemons and oranges were passed through a bath of borax, which killed the spores causing mould and permitted long tranship nents without loss. Oranges which had been 42 days in a truck without refrigeration opened up in perfect condition after such treatment, which was standard in California.

The successful handling of bananas was largely a question of temperature. They should not be carried below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Somewhat of a novelty, although it was known in Queensland, was the Avocad pear, resembling the common fruit of that name but more oval in. shape and used as a salad fruit Rich in vegetable fat, it was greatly prized, but was very dear.