Citrus Station Mimeo Report CES WFW-Lake Alfred, Florida Lake Alfred, Florida Newsletter No. 2 6.

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1 Newslette No. 2 6 Citus Station Mimeo Repot CES Novembe 18, WFW-Lake Alfed, Floida Edito: W. F. Wadowski Havesting and Handling Section* Univesity of Floida Citus Expeiment Station P. 0. Box 1088 Lake Alfed, Floida UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES and STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF CITRUS ^Complimentay to membes of the Floida Fesh Citus Shippes Association. Othes wishing to eceive this newslette may send a dozen stamped, peaddessed envelopes to the above addess.

2 Newslette No. 26 Citus Station Mimeo Repot CES Novembe 18, WFW-Lake Alfed, Floida Havesting and Handling Section PACKINGHOUSE NEWSLETTER STEM-END RIND BREAKDOWN Stem-end ind beakdown is a common peel injuy of oanges at this season of the yea. Dying conditions--in the gove, duing degeening, o afte degeening and befoe packing cause stem-end ind beakdown. Avoid unnecessay delay fom the time of picking to delivey to the packinghouse. Humidity in the degeening ooms should be maintained with no moe than a 2 to 3 degee spead between the dy-and wet-bulb themometes * Afte degeening, oanges should be packed as soon as possible. Pope handling will also educe decay. f Stem-end ind beakdown is moe likely to appea on small sizes and thin-skinned oanges. Stem-end ind beakdown can be educed o eliminated by keeping the ha vesting-waxing inteval to a minimum and not allowing the fuit to stand unde con ditions of low humidity. Moe infomation may be obtained fom Cicula 286, "Pactical Measues fo Contol of Rind Beakdown of Oanges,11 which is available at the Citus Expeiment Station. A. McConack Depatment of Citus Citus Expeiment Station THIS IS A BAD YEAR FOR STEM-END ROT In Newslette No. 25, we mentioned that all symptoms indicated that this would be a bad degeening season; and any delays o eos in degeening would geatly stimulate stem-end ot. We wee emiss in buying this impotant item well down on page 3. It has tuned out to be all too tue and has definitely had an effect on the maket. Fall stem-end ot is caused by Diplodia natalensis which is also one of the oganisms causing foot-ot, twig die-back, and simila poblems in the gove. It thives in wet weathe as the spoes ae wate-bon. In a season such as this, we can expect the buttons of vitually evey fuit to be infected with this fungus. If it entes the fuit, the esult is stem-end ot. Fall stem-end ot has the unfotunate chaacteistic that its gowth and devel opment is vey much acceleated by degeening tempeatues and high ethylene con centations. Until we get cleaance fo pehavest fungicides, ou only effective ecommen dations ae to get the fuit though the degeening oom as fast as possible and to keep degeening conditions as nealy optimum as possible. Anything that slows up degeening will geatly stimulate stem-end ot. High ethylene concentations and also dy degeening oom conditions (which cause minute cacks unde the button, allowing fungus to ente) cause inceases in stem-end ot. When cops ae vey geen, we advise test picking a few boxes of inside fuit to see if they will degeen befoe picking the whole cop. In the degeening oom, keep ethylene concentations low. Evey packinghouse should have an ethylene

3 Newslette No Novembe 18, 1969 analyze which is vey cheap insuance against decay claims. Ethylene at 1 to 5 ppm will do a good degeening job without too much stimulation of stem-end ot. Thee should be definite ai movement in all pats of the oom, slight continuous ventila tion; tempeatues should not exceed 85 F, and humidity should be ove 907o R.H., but not up to pecipitation point. Above all, do eveything you can to shoten the time between the tee and the fungicide applicato * W. Gieson, Pofesso Hoticultuist Citus Expeiment Station NEW PACKINGHOUSE IN ARIZONA Attention is dawn to the aticle in the Califonia Citogaph, Vol. 54, No. 12, page 492, Octobe, 1969, entitled: "DVR: Colossus at Tacna." We who advise on new developments always wish that sometime we could stat with a completely blank sheet of pape. This has been done by a vey lage investment copoation, Tain, Cabot Associates, in thei enomous Deset Valencia Ranch planting on Yuma Mesa in Aizona. This is a huge investment by had-headed financies who planned it with the best advice they could get; and the esult is a ''people-oiented" set-up designed, as a fist item of pioity, to give yea aound employment to thei wokes. The packinghouse will wok on the "inventoy-to-inventoy system." That is to say an inventoy of havested fuit and an inventoy of packed fuit with a packing pocess jp»k unning at maximum efficiency egadless of individual odes. We wee among the many people consulted in the planning of this huge ventue; but these decisions wee pobably not due to ou advice, but because they made sense to a goup of had-headed financies. Fo tliose who do not have access to the Califonia Citogaph, we would be happy to send them a Xeox copy. The aticle is well woth eading fo many easons, if only to see what ou competition is doing. W. Gieson, Pofesso Hoticultuist Citus Expeiment Station DR. GRIERSON RECEIVES AWARD The Floida State Hoticultual Society!s Pesidential Gold Medal Awad has been pesented to D, Bill Gieson, Head, Havesting and Handling Section, Citus Expeiment Station. This awad is pesented each yea at the FSHS annual meeting in Miami Beach to the Society membe contibuting most to the State's hoticultual industy though papes pesented duing the past 5 yeas. Congatulations Bill1.

4 Newslette No Novembe 18, 1969 SUMMARY OF SIZE OF DISPLAY STUDY The size of the fesh oange display has a geate affect on oange sales than whethe the display is efigeated. The FCCfs Economic Reseach Depatment ecently tested fou displays of vaying sizes and levels of efigeation. The sales esults ae summaized in the figue below. A summay of the esults is-as follows: 1. Thee was not a significant diffeence in sales between the two six-foot displays even though one was 100 pecent efigeated and the othe had only 33 pecent efigeation. 2. Thee was a significant decease in sales when the thee-foot display of 100 pecent efigeation was substituted fo the six-foot display of 33 pecent efigeation. 3- Thee was a significant incease in sales when the ten-foot display of 20 pecent efigeation was substituted fo the six-foot display of 33 pecent efigeation,, The above esults suggest that, unless the supemaket chain will substitute an equal amount of efigeated display aea fo the non-efigeated space, the industy should not go to all-efigeated displays. Refigeated poduce counte space is limited in the typical supemaket; wheeas, non-efigeated aisle table display space is not as limited. Consequently, the industy would likely have geate success in obtaining additional non-efigeated space- As indicated by this study, such an incease in display aea would incease sales. Fo a copy of the complete study, please contact the Economic Reseach Depatment, Floida Citus Commission, Univesity of Floida, Gainesville, Floida, WEEKLY SALES PER 100 CUSTOMERS (LBS.) 6 SALES OF ORANGES 5-4 PROPORTION REFRIG. ^-PROPORTION NON-REFRIG. 3' e; BAGGED 1.5' 4 LOOSE 1.5' 2 LINEAR FEET OF DISPLAY AREA 8 2" D. W. Benad Leste, Diecto Economic Reseach Depatment Univesity of Floida

5 Newslette No Novembe 18, 1969 AVAILABLE PUBLICATIONS Available fom the Havesting and Handling Section, Citus Expeiment Station. "Pactical Measues fo Contol of Rind Beakdown of Oanges," May, Cicula 286. A. A. McConack and W. Gieson. Xeox copy of "DVR: Colossus at Tacna,11 Califonia Citogaph, Vol. 54, No. 12, p Octobe, Available fom Economic Reseach Depatment, State of Floida, Depatment of Citus, Univesity of Floida, Gainesville, Floida "Size of Display Study," D. W. Benad Leste.