Handling apples from tree to table /

Abstract

The industry's responsibility 41 Literature cited 42 CIRCULAR 659, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Growers are inclined to place the blame for the lack of quality in the apples offered in grocery stores and other outlets on the retailers and other intermediaries in the merchandising chain. They feel that the handlers of the fruit are not " apple-minded"; that to them apples are just so much perishable merchandise to be handled and priced according to the risk attached; that, in the absence of knowledge on how to minimize the risks, the retail price of the fruit is often pyramided to a point at which sales are retarded and the whole industry suffers correspondingly; and that, consequently, customers, unable to buy the kind of apples that they would like, turn to competing fruits. Market men, on the other hand, hold that frequently the fruit when received has already deteriorated so much that its value is greatly reduced and the hazards of further deterioration while in process of sale are greatly increased.. Most retailers are no more interested in apples than in any other commodity that will yield the same profit; so, if there are unusual risks in handling apples, this fruit naturally will not receive the consideration that it otherwise would. This circular gives the available information on how to handle apples from the time of harvest so that they will reach the ultimate consumer in prime condition, as well as the reasons for the recommendations. Need for this information is greater today than it was a few years ago, because of the increased production of apple varieties that are more susceptible to injury and deterioration during storage, transportation, and market distribution than many of the varieties formerly grown. Approximately 60 percent of the commercial apple production of the United States now consists of varieties having relatively soft flesh. Such important varieties as Mcintosh, Golden Delicious, Cortland, Stayman Winesap, and Delicious and its red strains all are much more tender and more subject to injury in handling than are the hard-fleshed varieties like Winesap, Yellow Newtown, Baldwin, and York Imperial. While all varieties should be handled carefully, it is particularly important with the tenderfleshed varieties.