Trial Shipment of African Oranges

Chronicle (Levin), 25 January 1949, Page 5

Trial Shipment of African Oranges

Press Association)

(Per

W E L LJ jSfe'TO N , , J a n. 24. ■The • pas&ihMi-ty of developipg trade in citrus fruit between South Afj'iea a,nd New Zealand, is at present being iuvestigated in both « countries. The. keeping (|ualities of Oranges on the' long sea journey were tested with a trial shipment. of 20 cases which arri-ved at Wellington in the Dominion Mona'rch today. 8 Discussihg the experiment, the senior eni omologist of the Department of -Seientific and Industrial Research, D'r. \V. Cottier, who had charge of the oranges on the voyage, said that whether they could be successfully marketed in New Zealand would not be known till they had been kept ashore for iihont a fortnight. The fruit was in storage at a teniperature of 32 to 34 degrees for the first 14 days of the voyage and at 45 to 50 degrees for the remainder of the journey. . It will De stored ashore at 65 degrees. Dr. Cottier said that if it was found that the fruit kept successfully, tlie. economics of the .question. would havh to be gone into. Interest in probleriis eonnected with the transport of fruit was being shown by cold storage authorities in South Africa which had a big trade in deciduous fruits with Ameriea. While overseas Dr. Cottier studied entoniological problems particulariv in Britain and South Africa, with New Zealand conditions in mind. He attended both the Coinmonwealth entomological conferenee in Engiand and the lnternational entoniological conferenee . in Sweden. He mentioned that a new range of inseeticides which might be of use in New Zealand, had been developed since D.D.T. One of New Zealand 's own major inspeet problems, lodlin moth, had been very successfully fought with D.D.T. Dr. Cottier also looked into the quesJ011 of composting sewage while in 3)uth Africa where this was carfied on ixtensively during the war because of ;he shortage qf ,.artificial fertilisers. lowever, a lot o±* investigation woulil nive to be carried opt in. New Zealand ' K'fore it could be said this- pystem( -ould be a^plied here,: he- said. " - - - j