TABLE OF CONTENTS The most obvious losses from marketing fruit crops are caused by mechanical injury, decay, and aging. Losses in moisture, vitamins, and sugars are less obvious, but they adversely affect quality and nutrition. Rough handling and holding at undesirably high or low temperatures increase loss. Loss can be substantially reduced by greater care in handling and by following recommended storage practices.
Maximum storage life can be obtained only by storing high-quality commodities soon after harvest. Different lots of fruit may vary greatly in storage behavior because of variety, climate, soil and cultural conditions, maturity, and handling practices. When fruit is transported from a distance, is grown under unfavorable conditions, or is deteriorated, proper storage allowance should be made.
Fresh fruit for storage should be as free as possible from skin breaks, bruises, and decay. These defects reduce the value of the product and may cause rapid deterioration not only of the damaged fruit, but also of fruit stored nearby. Damaged fruit often produces more ethylene, which can cause rapid ripening of many types of climacteric fruit. For the same reason, it is unwise to store fruit or vegetables having different storage characteristics together; some may emit ethylene, causing a more sensitive crop to ripen prematurely. Natural cooling in well-ventilated storage slows down or halts these processes.
The amount of incipient decay infection, which influences storage potential of grapes and apples, can be predicted early. Only lots with good storage potential should be held...
