Omenien varastoimisesta alhaisessa lämpötilassa

Authors

• Jaakko Säkö Maatalouden tutkimuskeskus, Puutarhantutkimuslaitos, Piikkiö

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.71484

Abstract

In 1958 an experiment was made, where the effect of the average temperatures of —1° C (fluctuation from —2° to 0° C) and of +4° C (fluctuation from +3° to +5°C) on the keeping quality and ripening of four apple varieties were compared. In both storage rooms 200 apples were stored of each variety. The relative humidity of the rooms was kept at 85—90 %. The results of the keeping quality of the apples are given in Table 1. The fungal wastage of apples was considerably low in both storage rooms, as generally in apples stored in 1958. Obviously this was due to a rather dry growing season 1958. Some freezing occurred in the Wealthy (5.5 %) and Åkerö (3.0 %) apples when stored at the temperature of —1° C, but in Kaneli and Lobo varieties it did not appear. In the most apple varieties the loss of weight was a little smaller in the apples kept in the colder storage room. The firmness of apple texture, which was measured by a texture meter (Fig. 1), was in all the varieties tested better in those apples stored at —1° C comparing with those stored at +4° C (Table 2). This was especially pronounced in the late autumn variety Kaneli, of which the measurements were made at the beginning of December. The texture of the Lobo, Wealthy and Åkerö apples was also measured after they had been kept ten days at the room temperature (18°—20° C). During that time the firmness of the apple texture decreased in all apples, but most in those, which were stored at +4° C. All the Wealthy apples stored at the last-mentioned temperature and then kept ten days at 18°—20° C were overripe. This was not the case in the apples stored at —1° C.