Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/572389
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER OCTOBER 2015 21 from injury caused by low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels found in CA storage," Beaudry said. —The third essential element is stor- age temperature. For all storage condi- tions—air or CA—and durations, storage temperature should be held preferably at 38°F and certainly not lower than 36°F. Using chemicals Packers can use either 1-MCP or DPA, or both together. In air storage, Honeycrisp can be held up to four months with no chemical treatments. If 1-MCP is used, it should be applied at 1 part per million for 24 hours at the time of preconditioning. The 1-MCP will extend the storage life to six to seven months. Drenching with DPA is not recommended before short-term air storage. For CA storage without treatment with either DPA or 1-MCP, the recommended procedure is, after preconditioning, to store at 36°F to 38°F for a least a month with the carbon dioxide level below 1 percent and oxygen level between 1.5 and 3 percent. Then, the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels can be raised to 3 percent each and the apples stored for an additional six to eight months. If the intense preconditioning pro- gram is used, the month of storage at lower carbon dioxide may not be neces- sary. Beaudry is still studying the intense program. If 1-MCP is used alone, the treatment protocol for CA storage is the same as for air storage, but the CA conditions will extend the storage life to about nine months. "Fruit can be held longer if initial apple maturity was less," Beaudry added. He recommends use of a DPA drench at 250 to 1,000 ppm (if your intended market allows this use) before precondi- tioning on apples that go into CA storage. "DPA is very effective at suppressing CA injury in Honeycrisp and would certainly be able to substitute for a precondition- ing treatment in terms of controlling CA injury," he said. "However, since DPA has only a slight suppressive effect on chilling injury, a minimal prestorage conditioning program (five to seven days at 50°F) is still advisable in air or CA storage." No matter how the Honeycrisp will be stored, a critical step is having a good pre- harvest decay control program, Beaudry said. Honeycrisp apples are prone to storage rots as well as injury from carbon dioxide and chilling. • RICHARD LEHNERT/GOOD FRUIT GROWER Randy Beaudry outlined the storage protocols he has developed for maintaining Honeycrisp quality. He spoke to growers in an orchard operated by Joe, Al, Dan, and Ryan Dietrich near Conklin, Michigan. Here, Beaudry, right, and Dan look over the developing Honeycrisp crop. Willow Drive Nursery, Inc. Call Toll Free: 1-888-548-7337 3539 Road 5 NW, Ephrata, WA 98823 www.willowdrive.com Ambrosia™ Blondee™ Cameo® brand Chrisolyn™ Jonathan Granny Smith Jonastar™ Jonagold Pink Lady® Brand RubyMac® Snowsweet® Spartan Zestar!® Gala: Buckeye® Gala Ultima Gala® Early Fuji: Morning Mist™ Rising Sun® Braeburn: Kumeu Crimson® Mariri Red™ Additional Varieties Brookfield ® Gala (Baigent CV) From New Zealand we bring you Brookfield, ® the ultimate striped Gala.The bold red stripe over its red background is the obvious improvement. The apple's early color permits proper harvest timing for best storage maturity, flavor retention, and customer satisfaction. Lady in Red This high colored Cripps Pink sport begins color formation well over a month before harvest and finishes off with a beautiful, nice, reddish-pink hue. Lady in Red was shown to mature approximately one week earlier than the Cripps Pink cultivar grown in the same location in New Zealand. *Trademark license for Pink Lady® Brand available upon request (Lady in Red is a sport of Cripps Pink) USPP #18,787 Royal Red Honeycrisp ® Discovered in the Columbia Basin of Washington State, this exciting new color sport of Honeycrisp is catching attention from coast to coast. Royal Red Honeycrisp® is a blush type selection and maintains the crisp, juicy texture of its parent that so many consumers have come to love. Beyond the high color factor, initial tests indicate that it's improved storage characteristics may be equally important in improving pack-out. USPP #22,244 Aztec Fuji ® DT2 variety Aztec Fuji ® is a high colored Fuji sport from New Zealand. It has the sweet juicy flavor, crisp texture and harvest maturity of standard Fuji. Aztec is a blush type and observations show it to be one of the highest coloring Fuji sports to date. Aztec Fuji® is a protected trademark of Waimea Variety Management Early Robin ® This early Rainier-type cherry matures 7-10 days before standard Rainier. Early Robin ® is mild in flavor and medium to large in size. Early Robin ® requires a pollinizer but Van should not be used. USPP#13,951 Early Robin ® Aztec Fuji ® Royal Red Honeycrisp ® Willow Drive Nursery Call now for availability