ft t V f/S'.a* ^y y - Hawaii Agricultural Experiment St^^jj^ HONOLULU. /A, ••**' ' 4/2K E. V. WILCOX, Special Agent inSBE^ge. •,5j \\ NOV 1973 ;K§ PRESS BULLETIN r\0.\2^, >$&&/ -"****„*»' Pineapple Shipping Exper in 1908. By J. E. Higgins, Horticulturist, Hawaii Experiment Station, United States De- partment of Agriculture. The pineapple industry continues to develop. It has attained larger dimensions than would have been thought of a few years ago. The output has increased so rapidly that some growers have even expressed the fear that production might for a time exceed consumption. With the conviction that the best pre- ventive for overproduction lies in the direction of increased dis- tribution ; with the belief that the fresh pineapple is one of the best possible advertisements for itself and for the canned product : and with the further fact in mind that whatever can be done to perfect, methods of shipping will increase the output of fresh pineapples, this Station has continued its investigations in pine- apple shipping during the past season. A number of new prob- lems have been taken up and some of the experiments of pre- vious years have been repeated with confirmatory results. The experiments were on a co-operative basis, being entered into by the Wahiawa Consolidated Pin pfflr ^ l ^ l ,\]J ' nnX Lt nr T~Tn ' »M ^o«o U.S. DEPOSITORY waiian Pineapple Company, the Thomas Pineapple Company, the Matson Navigation Company, and the Hawaii Experiment Station. The shipment was made on the Steamship "Hilonian," sailing from Honolulu August n, 1908. The plan of the experi- ment was similar to that outlined in Bulletin No. 14 and Press Bulletin No. 21. RESULTS OF TRIALS The value of "curing" the fruit was one of the important prob- lems which had not been taken up in a systematic way until this season. The term "curing"' as here applied refers to the hold- ing of the fruit for a day or two before packing. During this time most of the stems will shrivel and the cut surfaces will be- come dry and resistant to infection. By this means also, the excessive heat of the fruit is eliminated. During the warmer part of the day the temperature of the fruit in the field is much higher than the temperature of the air in the shade. In some observations between 7 A. M. and 8 A. M. it was found that the temperature at the center of the fruit was only 70° Fah., while the air temperature in the shadow of the same fruit was 78° Fah. Inserting the thermometer one inch, the reading was 76° Fah. Before 10 A. M. the temperature of the fruit in the center was 82 Fah., and in the warmest part, 95° Fah. The fruit continued absorbing heat. At 2 P. M. the reading was 105 Fah. in the warmest part. It will thus be seen that the pineapples, as ordinarily gath- ered, have absorbed a large amount of heat. If packed before this has been eliminated, the ripening and decay of the fruit will be greatly hastened. To test the practical value of holding the fruit before packing, a part of the shipment was gathered two days, and another part. one day before packing; while still a third portion was gathered and packed the same day. The results indicated no advantage in holding the fruit longer than twenty-four hours, this being sufficient to permit of the drying of the stems and the cooling of the fruit. Possibly, a longer time would be required 'luring the damper weather when the winter crop is being harvested. SATURDAY WEDNESDA Y THURSDA Y WEDNESDA Y PLATE I. THERMOGRAPH RECORD. Tli.' nbovc shows ;i record "i the temperature of the Mir surrounding pineapples in transit fr Wednesday, August 19, 1908. The Interruption oi the record on Monday, August 10th, was coincident v from cai to steamship, Temperature in transit. It is interesting to note the temper- ature of the air surrounding: the fruit in transit, but it must he remembered that this is not a true record of the temperature of the fruit, since the latter must acquire the air temperature slowly. If packed when cool, it will probably not acquire the greatest heat indicated during the short time in the car in Honolulu or in transit. On the other hand, it will not be quite so cool as the air temperature by the record sheet on arrival in San Francisco. The record exhibited by the accompanying illustration (Plate I) was made by a thermograph placed in the car, and later in the 'tween decks of the ship. In both cases it was located among the crates with a view to giving a fair average temperature. From Saturday at 5 P. M. until Monday between 10 A. M. and 1 2 noon, the fruit was in the car, the doors being open until about 7 A. M. on Monday, when the train departed from Wa- hiawa. The thermograph was installed in- the ship at about 4:30 P. M. of the same day. Several sudden drops in temperature may be noted during the time spent at sea. These were coinci- dent with the opening of the hatches and the hoisting of the windsail after rough weather. The hoop deck. The record of temperatures on the poop deck was taken by means of a self-registering thermometer which was read twice each day. This thermometer was suspended in a narrow shaft between the crates, arranged for the purpose at the center of the deck. The thermometer was suspended soon after getting to sea on August nth and the maximum reading for the remainder of the day was 79° Fah. On the 12th, the maxi- mum was 74 r at the noon reading, and 71° at the 5:30 P. M. reading. From this time to the end of the voyage, the tem- perature constantly fell, always remaining below that in the 'tween decks. Comparing the results in the fruit carried in these two parts of the ship, neither showed any advantage over the other. Flad there been continuous rough weather, so that the hatches could not have been opened, the results might have been different. The electric ventilator installed to ventilate the 'tween decks of the S. S. "Hilonian." marks an important step in progress in Hawaiian fruit shipping. The one machine, however, is inade- quate for the space and should be supplemented by another. There can be no question that the 'tween decks adequately ven- tilated will afford the safest and best part of the ship for pine- apples. Indeed nothing short of this will meet the situation. Care in handling. The conditions under which the experi- ments of the past season were conducted, afforded an oppor- tunity for careful handling from the field to the wharf in San Francisco. The greater portion of the pineapples were brought from the field to the packing house in lug boxes containing only a reasonable number of fruits each, spring wagons being used for this transportation. At Honolulu the car was placed on a siding close to the ship and thus carting, involving two handlings, was avoided. It is due the Matson Navigation Company to state here that its handling of the fruit evinced much care In loading, the sling was provided with adjustable protectors to prevent the binding of the ropes against the slats of the crates. In discharging, a man was stationed at the side of the chute and about half way between the deck and the wharf to stop the crates. By this means the men at the end of the chute were able to prevent a sudden jar when the crates reached the wharf. The loss by bruising which oftentimes is very heavy, was reduced to almost insignificant proportions by this careful handling from field to market and by good packing. Fruit from different fields. The results of comparisons of the shipping qualities of pines from different fields in earlier experi- ments were confirmed by the trials of the past season. These results were fully set forth in Bulletin Xo. 14 and in Press Bulletin Xo. 21, and need not be repeated here. MARKET PROBLEMS. Size of Fruits. There has recently grown up a tendency with some growers to ship very small pineapples. The reasons for this are that the small fruit carries better with less bruising and less decay. Although the price per dozen is low, these fruits sometimes sell quite readily. It is not recommended that any great quantity of the largest pineapples, weighing between six and nine pounds per fruit, should be shipped since the demand for these is small. They appeal to a fancy market, and, so far as such outlet for them can be developed, they should be ship- ped ; but the demand is for 'the medium sized fruit. There is a danger in the practice of shipping the very small fruits, includ- ing those weighing three pounds and less. The fact that a good many of these have come into the San Francisco market from Honolulu has led some to suppose that the Hawaiian pineapple soils were becoming exhausted, and that these small fruits rep- resented a decline in the quality of the product. As indicated above, this is not the cause, which rather is of a purely com- mercial nature. The Hawaiian pineapple growers, however, should be aware of the interpretation which is being made and guard the reputation of their product by shipping first class fruit of medium size, and such quantity of larger sizes as prove profitable. The fruit which sells most readily, and at the same time is superior in size to most of the fruit with which it com- petes, weighs from four to five pounds. Insect Quarantine. Developments have arisen during the sea- son which have necessitated some changes in the practices of the growers and shippers in relation to insect control. The California State Board of Horticulture have ruled that pine- apples entering the State must be fumigated before arrival, or. in other words, that on arrival they must be free from living insects. The law of California relating to the inspection and quarantine, is plain and Mr. Ehrhorn, Quarantine Officer of the port of' San Francisco, is simply carrying out his responsibility in detaining infested shipments of pineapples. The shipping of clean fruit is of mutual interest to California, to protect the orchards of that state, and to the pineapple growers of Hawaii, to prevent the loss of shipments. In the solution of the prob- lem, Mr. Ehrhorn has taken an active interest and we are in- debted to him for valuable assistance and advice. The remedy for this difficulty lies at home. Every effort should be made to grow clean pineapples. For the protection of the fruit and the reputation of the growers, it-is greatly to be desired that even dead scales and mealy-bugs should not dis- figure the fruit, but in spite of the most rigid methods of culti- vation, it is probable that a few insects will be present in aliv any shipment. It is ? therefore, absolutely necessary that the fruit should be carefully fumigated; and that special vigilance- be exercised to the end that no stray fruits that have not been treated should get into the crates. The writer has seen ship- ments in which a few pineapples were found in the crates har- boring living insects, while the other insects in the crate were troyed. This appears to be due to carelessness in preparing the shipment. The entomologist of the Station gives the following recom- mendation for the fumigation of pineapples for shipment: For every ioo cubic feet of air space the dosage is as follow- : i^ ounce (by weight; of potassium cyanide, 3 fluid ounces of sulphuric acid, 6 fluid ounces of water. This dosage with an exposure of 60 minutes has been found effective in killing all forms of the mealy-bug. Pseudococcus citri and the scale.. Diaspis bromeliae, when liberated in an air- tight chamber. The fumigation under canvas has not been uniform in results. It has been necessary to extend the time when using canvas and the length of time has depended upon the facilities for doing the work. In using a canvas treated effectively to prevent leakage, over an air-tight floor, the time is approximately that for an air-tight chamber. Generally speaking, however, the time for fumigation under treated canvas should be extended to at least one hour and thirty minutes. The loss of time in the labor required for the fumigation work can be balanced by increasing the capacity of the fumigating outfit. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries with support from LYRASIS and the Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/pineshipOOunit UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ii i minium 3 1262 08929 1164