Soft scald and soggy breakdown never appear in apples stored at temperatures above 38 . They occur most commonly when susceptible varieties are picked at an advanced stage of maturity or are permitted to ripen after picking before being placed in cold storage. Apples picked at the proper stage of maturity and stored the same day at 31 rarely are affected. Storage at 34 to 36 for 4 to 6 weeks before lowering the temperature to 31 generally controls the disease in susceptible apples. Holding Jonathan apples in an atmosphere containing 25 percent carbon dioxide gas for 24 hours before storage at 31 is an effective preventative of soft scald.

Anjou pear scald is similar to apple scald both in its appearance and in the susceptibility of fruits harvested before they are fully mature. It also is subject to control with oiled-paper wraps. Anjou scald appears as a dark-brown surface discoloration, which affects Only the appearance of the fruits. The flesh remains edible. Anjou scald usually develops on fruits stored past February 1, but does not appear until they have been removed from cold storage to warmer temperatures to ripen. In the first 24 hours of ripening the disorder may affect all the pears in a lot, particularly if the wraps are removed when the pears are Placed in the warm room.

Anjou scald was noticed by Henry Hartman of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station as early as 1928. At about the same time J. S. Cooley and J. H. Crenshaw, then of the Department of Agriculture, stationed at Hood River, Oreg., were attempting to control gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) decay of Anjou pears with copper-impregnated wraps. The treatment was partially successful, but wraps so treated were too brittle for practical use. To remedy that, the manufacturers added about 18 percent by weight of the type of oil that had been used for several years in apple wraps.

The copper wraps first developed were effective in controlling both the botrytis decay and scald but caused fruit injury under certain conditions. Later Hartman, and his co-workers, developed a wrap which could be used safely, that contained 1.5 percent basic copper calculated as actual copper and 17 percent light, tasteless, and odorless mineral oil. The modified wrap controlled both gray mold decay and Anjou scald without fruit injury. It is in general use in the Anjou pear districts in the Pacific Northwest.

Common pear scald, distinct from Anjou scald, occurs on Bartlett, Bosc, and other commercial varieties. At first it causes a brown or black discoloration of the skin. It progresses rapidly into the flesh at moderate or high temperatures. In late stages the skin easily sloughs off. The taste and odor of affected fruit are disagreeable even before discoloration appears. Like apple scald, pear scald is worse on immature fruit and under poorly ventilated conditions, but unlike apple scald it is not controlled by oiled paper. Scald develops on Bartlett pears in 30 to 35 days at 43 F. and in 70 to 80 days at 36 , but usually not at all at 31 during the maximum 90-day storage period of this variety. It usually does not develop on other commercial varieties until near the end of the maximum storage period.

Onions are subject to a breakdown of such importance in storage that it is often miscalled storage breakdown although the disease also may occur in the field. It is characterized by a grayish, water-soaked appearance of the outer two or three fleshy scales of the bulb similar to freezing injury. Storage breakdown differs from freezing injury in that interior scales are not involved, and the disorder is not continuous around the bulb. Storage temperatures near 32 and relative humidity at about 65 percent are less favorable to development than higher temperatures and humidities.

Citrus fruits also are subject to a number of physiological disorders. Pitting of grapefruit and of midseason and late oranges usually does not develop until after 4 to 6 weeks in storage. The disorder appears as sunken spots in the rind. They are pinkish at first on grapefruit and later become brownish on both grapefruit and oranges. Pits are generally one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter when they occur singly, but several may merge to form pits up to 2 inches in diameter. The flesh under the larger pits often has a tainted flavor, becomes soft, and is susceptible to fungus decay.

The Pineapple variety of oranges is often severely affected with pitting, even during comparatively short periods in transit. Some doubt exists in the case of Valencia oranges as to whether pitting is distinct from aging or they are both the result of the same unknown cause. Valencia oranges that are shipped under refrigeration are not likely to develop pitting or aging symptoms until several days after unloading. Low relative humidity in storage or in transit and storage temperatures of 36 to 40 seem to favor the disorder.

Membranous stain of lemons occurs in fruits harvested during cool, damp weather. When the fruits are cut open, it can be seen as a browning of the membranes between the segments. At times the browning may extend to the core tissues or to the pulpy tissue inside the rind.

Pitting of lemons, a low temperature disorder, and red blotch, a physiological field disease which seldom is a problem in storage, may be grouped with membranous stain as be-In. favored by storage at 32 to 40 . Maintenance of storage temperatures at 55 to 58 reduces loss from the disorders and also retards decay, which makes serious inroads at higher temperatures.

Stylar-end breakdown of Tahiti (Persian) limes in some years becomes the most important transit disease of limes of advanced maturity from Florida. It appears as a grayish-tan, water-soaked spot at the base of the tip of the fruit. The area may enlarge rapidly to include as much as one-half of the lime. The affected rind remains firm but darkens and becomes sunken below the adjacent unaffected skin. Perishable commodities from the different parts of the country are marketed during precise seasons of the year. Within the limits of each season, experienced receivers have little trouble with breakdown disorders in fruits and vegetables from reliable shippers. Careless harvest practice, whereby fruit is allowed to become overmature before harvest or is delayed in the field or orchard before it is placed in cold storage, and poor storage and shipping operations, which allow temperatures in cold storage or common storage to become higher than those recommended for maximum keeping quality or permit transit delays under unfavorable conditions, all may drastically shorten the marketing life of fruits or vegetables. Produce that has been mishandled is likely to degenerate before the end of the normal marketing season, and care is needed to detect such fruit and divert it from ordinary trade channels. Retailers often display fruits too long under far from ideal conditions which bring on physiological deterioration and thus cause unnecessary losses to themselves and consumers.

T. R. WRIGHT is a pathologist in the Horticultural Field Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Wenatchee, Wash.