GAS STORAGE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21157, 5 July 1940, Page 9

GAS STORAGE

EXPERIMENTS WITH FRUIT RIPENING SLOWED DOWN RESULTS SAID TO BE PROMISING Experiments being undertaken in the Dominion to test the practicability of refrigerated gas storage for apples and, perhaps, other fruit, were described in a statement issued yesterday by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The process was first developed in England nearly 30 years ago, and today from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 bushels of home-grown apples are successfully stored in this way in Britain each year. The department said the fact that apples “breathed” by using up oxygen from the air and replacing it with carbon dioxide was the principle utilised in gas storage, for it had been found that the carbon dioxide so formed had the effect of slowing down the ripening processes of the apples, thereby enabling the fruit .to be held in better condition for longer periods. No carbon dioxide need be admitted to the refrigerated, gas-tight storage chamber, as sufficient was produced by the fruit itself. Serious Damage Possible The most suitable concentration of carbon dioxide varied very widely for different varieties of apples. Some types were not amenable to gas storage at all, and, with any variety, if the carbon dioxide in the atmo- ! sphere rose higher than a certain | amount, serious damage would result in the form of a disease known as “brown heart.” “In order to determine the best conditions of temperature and carbon dioxide concentration for New Zealand varieties of apples, research has been in progress for the last four years in a small scale plant at the Dominion Laboratory of the department,” the statement continued. “These experiments have given highly promising results with several varieties, namely Ballarat, Washington, Jonathan and Sturmer. To translate the results into commercial practice, a plant on a semicommercial scale is now in course of construction and this will enable reliable information on gas storage to be made available to the fruit industry.” Vegetables Can Be Stored The process was also of value for other fruits and vegetables. Considerable success had been obtained j with pears and peaches, and in England a fair amount of research carI ried out on vegetables showed that | some of these could be successfully gas stored. It was added that gas storage was at least equally costly as ordinary cool storage and was generally slightly higher, but the additional expense was amply recompensed by ! the much higher quality of gas stored i fruit, especially during the latter part of the year. The process was essentially one for the betterment of fruit quality for the local market, and the New Zealand consumer would undoubtedly appreciate an improvement in the standard of apples available during November and December.