APPLE SHIPMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18686, 16 October 1922, Page 5

APPLE SHIPMENTS

BROWN HEART TROUBLE. MAINLY A QUESTION OF TEMPERATURE. Press Association—By Telegraph— Copyright LONDON, October 13. (Received Oct. 15, at 6.5 p.m.) Replying to an inquiry from the bruit and Produce Exchange of Great Britain (Ltd.), regarding the causes of the brown heart in apples, Dr Charles Brooks, pathologist to the United States Department of Agriculture, says he thinks it is largelv due to the accumulation of the gases given oft' by the apples, also favoured by the high temperature which must have existed to produce the gases in such large quantities. It is probably also favoured by any over-ripeness in the fruit. A similar disease, known in the United States, was called “internal breakdown,” which was thought to be entirelv due to over-ripeness at picking time, but was also brought about by stowage at high temperature. The removal of all air by suction from the bottom of the ships’ nolds would largely prevent brown heart and entirely prevent it if a proper temperature were maintained before cooling. This would probably enable apples to go through even worse*than the present shipping conditions without any great development of brown heart. Further, if the ship has sufficient refrigeration and thoroughly renews the air by ventilation during the first part of the voyage they would probably be able to prevent the trouble, without pre-cooling. Under the present conditions it is very dangerous to open the chamber after it is once closed, but it ought to be possible, if the ship has sufficient refrigeration, to reduce the apples to proper storage temperature within a few days.—A. and N.Z. Cable.