LOCAL STUDIES

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 70, 20 September 1927, Page 10

LOCAL STUDIES

Dr. Kidd has come to New Zealand, in the opinion of those best able to judge, at a time when he may see some of the virtues and the failings of the storage of New Zealand fruits on land. The Dominion carries in its cool stores over a million cases of fruit for home consumption, and the present time is a :ittle more than half-way through our cool storage season, for our apples must be held from April till Christmas time.

The chief problem in land, cool stores, both here and in certain other fruitproducing countries, is a diseaso known as flesh collapse or internal browning. This diseaso has been responsible in past years for an annual loss which is estimated to have reached as high as £25,000. It is only in the last three years that the method of avoiding this disease has been discovered for the varieties affected in New Zealand. Experiments have been conducted by Mr. Bichard Waters, omcer-in-charge of the Biological Laboratory, Department of Agriculture. The first of these was on a small scale. The next was with 5000 eases of Sturmors, and, finally, the entire store of 40,000-case capacity at Motueka was stacked and regulated in regard to its humidity and temperature according to the various classes of fruit that had to be held. The result of this work, extending over three years, has been absolutely successful, so far as the avoidance of flesh collapse is concerned. Last season the entire stock of the store held exceptionally well for the full periods for which it is required to cool store the various classes of fruit. Certain Stunners realised high prices in January. The methods employed to produce this result havo not so far been adopted throughout New Zealand. Dr. Kidd intends to inquire into the progress of this local work, and his report on this matter will be awaited with interest.