FACTORS INFLUENCING QUALITY OF PIP FRUIT

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 5, 15 November 1950, Page 427

FACTORS INFLUENCING QUALITY OF PIP FRUIT

By

C. E. BUSWELL,

Horticultural

Inspector, Department of Agriculture, Motueka.

WITH the importation of oranges and bananas approaching pre-war quantities, pip-fruit growers will need to make every endeavour to improve the quality of their produce if it is to hold a favourable position on local markets. Care in the handling of pip fruit during harvesting, grading, and packing will assist materially in ensuring that the fruit arrives on the market in a condition more attractive to the buyer, whose confidence in its quality is vital to the welfare of the industry. THE elimination as far as is practicable of small sizes of pip fruits is desirable, and, when pruning, some consideration can be given to this problem and the initial steps taken to deal with it. With the elimination of a large percentage of fruit buds when indications are for a heavy crop the following results will be achieved: — The size of fruit will be improved without any appreciable crop reduction. The increase in size of the fruit will make the crop more economical to harvest. Thinning will be reduced to the one operation of breaking up bunches. Foliage will be improved both in size of leaf and tone. Russet blemish will be reduced.

The tree will develop its crop and at the same time produce fruit buds for the following year, tending toward more regular cropping. Adequate leaf surface is vital to the production of quality fruit, and for this reason the tree must be maintained in . a vigorous condition. The cutting out of the spurs, and fruiting on younger wood, improves both the size and quality of the fruit.

Immature Fruit The practice of picking apple varieties too early is not to be commended. Even if the fruit does not shrivel, the flavour usually associated with each particular variety is not fully developed. Where large staffs are employed and varieties have gaps between harvesting dates the grower often faces the problem of having to decide whether he will have the staff idle for a few days or pick immature fruit. By carefully planning the season’s activities the grower can reduce this gap considerably as well as improve the quality of his fruit. A considerably higher percentage of fancy-grade fruit, particularly in the coloured varieties, will more than compensate for any effort involved. Over-anxiety to begin harvesting is likely to lead to difficulties. When the first variety is ■ finished the grower often feels compelled to continue harvesting to keep staff employed. By starting later, when his earliest variety would be slightly more mature but still in prime condition for export, he would find probably that the succeeding varieties were ready by the time he came to deal with them. However, if a gap in harvesting dates still existed, case making and other incidental work could occupy the staff for a few days. In the harvesting of pears the reverse of the situation as it relates to apples usually applies. Pears left on trees too long ripen too quickly when picked. They are difficult to transport to markets and are often mealy and tasteless. The Williams Bon Chretien variety is one which requires picking at the right stage of maturity if the magnificent flavour of this pear is to be appreciated. Maturing as it does

in January (February in Otago), during the hottest period of the summer, this variety requires very speedy handling and dispatch. These pears should be picked and packed and reach an assembly depot within 24 hours. Bruising during Picking Instances have been quoted of record tallies in picking, some of which are double and treble the normal picking rates. Nothing is gained in setting such records if a large percentage of fruit is bruised and punctured. In fact such picking often results in a considerable loss to the grower. Steady picking, with the elimination of bruising, should be the grower’s objective in training his staff. Apples . should not be pulled or plucked but picked with a backward rolling movement which parts the stem from the spur at the abscission ring. Fruit which is plucked or pulled often has the spur attached, which, if placed in a picking bag, punctures or bruises any fruit with which it comes in contact. Sometimes the stem may be torn from the apple, leaving an open wound, which, apart from providing an entry for fungi, detracts from the value of the fruit. Immature fruit is difficult to pick, as Nature has not intended the stem to part from the spur at this stage. Furthermore, when a spur is torn from a tree the bud which will produce fruit in the next season is also removed. , Apples should be placed, not dropped, into the picking receptacle, whether it is a bag, bucket, basket, or box. The method of emptying the picking bag or apron is important, as bruising may be caused by pouring apples into a container. The picker should place the picking bag in the container, release the canvas bottom, and then slowly, straighten up, drawing the bag from the fruit. Be sure the case is not over-filled, otherwise

bruising will occur when cases are stacked. Stacking When fruit is to remain stacked in the orchard for a short period it is important to level the ground to provide a good foundation for the stack. This will save loss of time and fruit which would occur if a stack capsized. If it is intended to leave the stack out for some days, protection should be provided against the 1 possibility of wet weather. After levelling the ground, sacks or old bags can be placed on it to keep cases clean. Three

cases can be placed on one sack, and if stacked 6 tiers high, 100 sacks will enable 1800 cases to be stacked without the risk of the bottom row becoming coated with mud. Timber, straw, or cover crop also can be used to protect the bottom cases. Top cases, require covering to prevent the fruit which is exposed from bleaching in the sun. The handiest and quickest, method of covering is to place inverted, cases on the stacks. In exposed situations, however, where wind is: likely, the best method is one in which three lid pieces can be used effectively,, the centre one overlapping the other

two and tacked. Where fruit is stacked on slopes a small trench is necessary to turn the water. In districts where heavy frosts are likely and freezing injury may occur it is not advisable to leave apples stacked in the orchard in late autumn. Such injury to fruit occurred in the 1949 season in Central Otago. Transport to Shed Nothing is gained by speedy transport to the shed if it means jolting and bruising. Cases should not be dumped on to the truck or trailer, as the apples are still unpacked and will bruise much more easily than later when they are packed and pocketed correctly. If the roadway through the orchard becomes hard and bumpy, a stroke with the discs every few days will improve it and lessen the chance of damage to fruit. Grading Much of the bruising which occurs is done while feeding the fruit through the grading machine, and to help to avoid this a sack tacked to the back top edge of the hopper is useful. Place the case of fruit on the shelf which runs along the back of most fruitgrader hoppers, draw the sack back over the case, hold the sack firmly to it and roll the case forward as though hinged on to the hopper. The case is now upside down and is carefully lifted from the fruit. Overloading the belts and bins is another source of bruising and it is not a time-saving factor. Also it is important to keep the bins clean and free from any refuse that will bruise and mark the fruit. Packing Cases should never be packed solely from fruit at the top of the bin, as some apples may have been at the bottom all day and become badly bruised and marked. Packing should always be done from the front of the bin, taking the apples right to the bottom of the bin, thus ensuring that each fruit is packed as nearly as possible in the order in which it arrives in the bin, so that it is exposed to bruising for the shortest possible time. Packers with longer fingernails cut and mark apples considerably, and this should be avoided. Cheek-to-cheek packing with the stems pointing to one end of the case, except the last apples in the layer which should have the calyces to the end, is the only way to achieve the uniformity of pockets so vitally necessary to a good firm pack. Packing in this way is no slower. The eyes select the apple and the hand picks it up and throws. it into the paper so that the stem points away from the packer. With a little practice this is done automatically. Slack packs and packs which are too high cause bruising, and for this reason a little time spent adjusting the grading machine until it sizes as perfectly as possible is a good insurance against these packing defects. Machines that grade by weight require

careful watching, as the weight of fruit often varies in pickings from different parts of the orchard. The packer should know when the first layer is packed whether the pack will come up to the correct height. The following details should be a guide:— Apples with a diameter of 3in. are packed 100 count 3-2 across, 4-4 lengthwise, with 5 layers. Twenty fruits are placed in the bottom layer, with, large pockets and packed fairly slack. The 113 pack has apples 2 Jin. in diameter and is packed 3-2, 5-4, 5 layers. Twenty-three fruits are placed in the bottom layer and the pockets are smaller and the pack a little tighter. This procedure may be followed down through the 3-2 packs, maintaining the correct height with 5 layers by tightening and reducing pockets as the size of the fruit decreases. This also applies to 3-3 or 2-2 packs; a tightening of pack and pocket from the large apples to the smaller. A good illustration of this tightening procedure is seen in the difference between 48 count 2-2, 3-3, 4 layers and 96 count 2-2, 6-6, 4 layers. Twice the number of apples are packed into the 96 count, maintaining the correct height, with the same number of layers as in the 48 count. Packers should have a thorough knowledge of the grading regulations so that a check is kept on the standard of fruit coming from the grading table. Lidding Press Severe damage may occur to fruit on the lidding press unless the pack is crowned correctly. Badly packed apples can be bruised, crushed, and even cut in half in the nailing-up process, and the shed foreman must insist that the packers consolidate the pack by pressing the ends of each layer down with the flat of the hand. The pack should finish with the end rows nearly flush with the top of the

case and. rising to a crown in the centre. In fitting the lid the foot lever should be pressed down slowly, otherwise much bruising may occur, particularly when the thick-bottomed case is used. Nailing Cleats should be. soaked in a barrel or tub to eliminate splitting when nailing. Cleats that are cracked or split will part on the way to market; lids then come off and fruit is damaged or lost. Nails must be driven in straight, otherwise they may protrude either on the outside or the inside of the case. In neither position will the lid be held firmly and in addition such nails either make the cases dangerous to handle or damage the fruit inside. Stacking Packed Cases Packed cases should not be stacked more than 7 high, and where thickbottomed cases are used this is often too high. With the bottom and sides of a case the same thickness, the pressure of the lidding press will find the weakest board, often causing a bulge in the side. It is impossible to stack such cases without ’ exposing them to pressure, and the solution to this problem is the use of the thinbottomed case. Importance of Appearance In the sale of any commodity appearance is of primary importance, and therefore cases must be clean and as attractive as possible. Labelling, wire strapping, and branding must be done neatly to give the package a finished appearance, which is often a good indication that care also has been exercised in handling the contents.

FACTORS INFLUENCING QUALITY OF PIP FRUIT

QUALITY OF PIP FRUIT

Veterinary Services Council

© Bursaries for Veterinary Students • The Veterinary Services Council is providing up to fifteen bursaries to enable students to commence a four years' course in veterinary science at the Veterinary School, Sydney University, in 1951. < The bursaries will, provide for:— (1) All university fees, together with an annual allowance for books and instruments. (2) Return transport, if available, between New Zealand and Sydney annually. (3) Allowance of £3 a week during the academic year. The gross value of the bursary in any one year shall not exceed £2lO. The net value of the bursary for the course will be £440, and all amounts in excess of this will be repayable in fortyeight equal monthly instalments after graduation of the bursar. Applicants MUST have passed the Medical Intermediate Examination, or its equivalent in the required subjects —zoology, botany, physics, organic and inorganic chemistry. Preference will be given to candidates possessing experience with livestock. Bursars may be required to undertake approved practical training in New Zealand during the long vacation. Continuation of the bursaries will be contingent on satisfactory reports from the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sydney. Bursars will require to enter into an agreement to return to New Zealand after graduation and serve in an approved veterinary capacity for a period of five years. Applications, addressed to the Secretary, Veterinary Services Council P.O. Box 866, Wellington giving particulars of age, qualifications and experience will be received up to December 20, 1950.