Effect of fruit size on the cool storage behaviour of Granny Smith apples

Abstract

Martin (1953) has shown with a number of Tasmanian-grown apple varieties that the incidence of storage disorders in fruit from the same tree is positively correlated with fruit diameter. However, in commercial practice, it would be impracticable for growers to cool store different sized fruit from each tree separately. Invariably, fruit from each picking is mixed in the orchard, graded for size and packed into cases for subsequent storage and/or marketing. While it is generally recommended that fruit for long storage should not be extremely large or small, no information is available to indicate whether variations within the recommended size range for long storage have any major effect on the cool storage behaviour of apples. These investigations were therefore designed to determine whether size has any effect on the cool storage behaviour of the Granny Smith variety, grown in Queensland, picked at optimum storage maturity and stored at recommended temperatures. The investigations were carried out over the 3-year period 1962-1964.