M. Elena Garcia, L. P. Berkett, and T. Bradshaw

Introduction
At the Vermont Apple Summit held in December of 1998, improving fruit quality was an area identified to which resources should be allocated in order to enhance the long-term sustainability and profitability of apple farming in the state. In July 1999, the Apple Team received a grant from the Apple Marketing Board to conduct on-site evaluations of the quality control of orchard practices of individual commercial apple growers, and to conduct group training for interested growers in quality control practices.  This is a report of the work conducted to assess fruit quality in Vermont orchards and packinghouses for the 1999 season. 
 
 

Accomplishments

Twilight meeting on improving and monitoring fruit quality
The fruit quality portion of this project began in August 1999 with a twilight meeting scheduled at two locations where such topics as measurement of fruit quality, state and federal standards, and field and packer handling strategies were discussed.  The meetings were well attended, especially considering their timing just before harvest, with nearly 30 growers in attendance. 

Light penetration into canopy evaluations (July and August)
Three orchards allowed the Apple Team to take light measurements in their orchards.  Light measurements into the canopy were taken with a Light Quantum Sensor instrument.  The data collected from the various tree training systems and pruning techniques were presented to growers at the Fruit Quality workshop on January 20 the at the Cortina Inn in Killington.  This information was used to demonstrate to growers the importance of summer pruning in improving light penetration for better fruit quality

Orchard visits to monitor fruit quality and checking systems (i.e., harvesting techniques) for sources of quality loss 
In studying the quality of fruit produced and sold by Vermont growers, three orchards with diverse cultural and marketing practices were selected and several tools were used.  In all phases of the study, fruit were visually inspected and assigned a bruise rating according to a scale set, and used solely by the primary data collector, Terence Bradshaw.  This scale is based loosely upon the standards set for allowable bruising by the USDA apple grading parameters.  Other measurements taken during the various phases of the project include starch index ratings and fruit firmness (pressure) values, both of which are used throughout the industry to measure fruit quality. Lastly, during harvest, packing, and some transportation segments of the production and sales chain, a sophisticated electronic device was used to measure impacts that occurred along the way.  The Impact Recording Device (IRD), was placed in containers of fruit and followed through the orchard or packinghouse where specific impact measurements could be ascertained.
Data collected during harvesting operations appears promising to the grower.  Very few impacts were recorded by the IRD out in the field, and even fewer of those were found to be above the bruising threshold determined by the IRD software. Fruit quality ratings in the field were also determined to be fairly satisfactory overall, although growers did often harvest their fruit later than optimal according the starch index test and fruit firmness (Table 1) in hopes of achieving better red color.  The cool nighttime temperatures that growers rely on to develop good fruit color did not come as anticipated, so this color did not develop and fruit firmness was seen to decrease after September 24. Because many growers rely upon large plantings of McIntosh, which have a very short harvest window, some  fruit are inevitably picked "over or under-ripe".  This requires that packing and storage houses very carefully plan and monitor storage conditions to maximize the storage, packing, and marketing potential for these fruit.  This is a perennial problem for growers and not one which will soon go away. Information on harvest parameters and new materials, used to advance or retard fruit ripening are helping growers, should help to alleviate this problem in the future. 

Table 1.  Quality parameters measured for McIntosh apples at three orchards in Vermont at five harvest dates.

The packing house was the next place where impact data was recorded.  While more impacts occurred on the lines, few crossed the bruising threshold and potential problem spots were brought to the operator's attention so that padding could be applied to reduce the intensity of future impacts.  Generally speaking, packinghouses were found to do a good job in handling fruit, but when line speed increases to push more fruit out the door, we see a definite increase in significant impacts and a resulting decreased fruit quality.  This source of fruit quality degradation was pointed out to packers, but without doing a profit analysis looking at increased fruit quality versus slower packing line speed it is hard to make a definite recommendation in this area.  By making operators aware of this potential problem we have placed the follow up work in their hands for the moment.

Fruit was then inspected at retail outlets in the Burlington area.  On each sampling date, twenty fruit were purchased from supermarkets that carried McIntosh apples produced and packed by the operations previously included in the study (Table 2). One packinghouse did not ship apples to the local area at the time of data collection, so only two supermarkets as opposed to the planned three are included in this portion of the study. Since then, a prominent display of this packer's fruit has appeared at one of the larger stores in the area.
 

In sampling fruit off the shelf, in the state that they are presented to consumers, we discovered the most serious problem regarding fruit quality for Vermont-grown apples. Fruit on the retail stands was generally in abysmal shape, with very low firmness readings and subsequently high bruise ratings. 
 

No fruit inspected were displayed in a cooled area, and all were stacked loose on the shelves.  This allowed fruit to be handled numerous times by both customers and produce personnel. While it would admittedly be difficult to change to storage and display practices of the entire supermarket industry regarding apple sales, this must be addressed in order to improve the quality of the fruit, which reaches the consumer. Maintenance of fruit refrigeration during storage and display and setup of displays, which are less amenable to the customers' "shuffling" of fruit, are two such areas that can be immediately addressed.

As stated above, data still needs to be collected from the retail end for this project and all data carefully organized.  Growers need to be informed of their successes in handling fruit and be reminded of the importance of such.  Packers will require education regarding the bruising potential of their lines and possibly a cost-effectiveness study run.  Retailers stand to be the most challenging link in the chain, for while it is to their advantage to sell more product, apples are only a small part of their stock, and soft McIntosh-type fruit are an even smaller part of their whole apple supply.  Development of new packaging and display systems and maintenance of the "cold chain" can dramatically improve the quality of fruit bought off the shelves.

Fruit Quality workshop (Jan 20, 2000).
Two experts in the area of fruit quality, W. Bramlage (UMass) and C.  Watkins (Cornell) were invited to present information on quality issues.  In addition, the results from the orchard visits to monitor fruit quality and checking systems were presented.  This workshop was well attended by approximately 35 people. 

Back to Basics workshop (March 22, 2000).
The UVM Apple Team Faculty presented basic information on horticultural and pest management practices during this workshop conducted at the UVM Horticulture Research Farm on March 22, 2000.  Guest speaker included F. Clark from OESCO, Inc (on sprayer calibration. and A. Hazelrigg (UVM, on Safe Handling, Use and Storage of Pesticides).   This workshop was attended by approximately 40 people. 

Summary and future plans
The results from this project indicate:

1. Growers are doing a great job a growing a good quality product
2. Fruit color is the main parameter by which harvest dates for McIntosh are set.  Fruit firmness is often lost while waiting for color development
3. Improving the amount of light that is intercepted by the fruit will have a direct effect on fruit color development.  This can be accomplished by dormant and summer pruning
4. Fruit firmness should be closely monitored to determine the storage conditions for the fruit
5. Fruit packing operations also do a good job at preserving fruit quality
6. The greatest loss of fruit quality appears to at the retail outlets where the storage and handling conditions are not conducive to maintaining the quality of the fruit

This fall, in cooperation with Bill Lord (UNH), the Apple Team will use the results from this project as a base to continue research on fruit quality.  The New England McIntosh Growers Association in cooperation with various New England departments of agriculture want to test a new packing box design.  Apples packed in these boxes should be able to move from the packing house directly to the display shelves at the grocery stores.  This should eliminate the extra handling that often leads to bruising of the fruit.