Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1932, Page 8

Farming Column

NEW ZEALAND FRUIT. EMPIRE BOARD’S INVESTIGATIONS. CONTROL OF WASTAGE. A five-year investigation into the condition of New Zealand and Australian apples and pears on arrival in the United Kingdom has been completed, and the results are published by the Empire Marketing Hoard. Last season, over 1,100,000 boxes of apples were exported from New Zealand—about 85 per cent of them to Britain: Although the fruit has to be shipped 12,000 miles through the tropics, “the condition in which most cargoes are landed,” says the report, “is surprisingly good, This is perhaps the most impressive achievement ol the fruit industry, and one of the major triumphs of refrigeration.” Good as it is, however, New Zealand fruit still suffers from a certain amount of wastage. Waste fruit is a dead loss to the producer. In these days of economy and low prices it is a luxury the industry cannot afford. The object of this survey was to obtain an estimate of the extent of wastage and to define the most urgent prob.ems of how to cut it down. Cargoes of apples and pears were met regularly at the London and Liverpool docks, during the five seasons under review, by the Board’s scientific officers. Sample boxes were opened and examined. If wastage was detected, damaged fruits were removed and sent, where necessary, to the Low Temperature Research Station at Cambridge for detailed examination. During the last two seasons, cards were inserted in the boxes requesting the retailer who finally sold the fruit to fill in details of any wastage found. The object of this was to estimate the extent to which wastage developed after the fruit left the docks. The inquiry has shown that wastage in apples is, broadly, of two types. Some forms, such as over-ripeness and fungal rotting, and deep scald, are due to storage conditions in the hold. Others, such as bitter pit, trace their origin to ft ho early bistofiy of the fruit in the orchard. The main causes of wastage in Australian and New Zealand fruit are over-ripeness followed by fungal rotting, internal breakdown, and bitter pit. Over-ripeness is the chief trouble with pears.

in the case of New Zealand apples, most of the wsatage is due to fungal rotting. “A considerable reduction of wastage might be eifected if the temperature conditions in the holds could be accurately adjusted,” the report, states. “This, however, is a matter of extreme difficulty, and it b ; ,>. been lound that at present tJit.-i<■ :l a considerable temperature variation between different pairts of a ship’s bold. The maintenance of unilorm temperatures in large masses of fruit is now being studied at the new Ditton Experimental Station and, it is anticipated that improved methods will gradually he evolved.” New Zealand fruit came out of the investigation, on the whole, with flying colours. Wastage from fungal rotting was h.w in all varieties. Few showed more than 2 per cent, of rotting, white in most cases the average was less than 1 per cent. As a rule, one or two “bad” apples were found n a box, and extensive rotting was rare.

Most of the rotting was due to mechanical injuries, and could be appreciably reduced if greater precautions were taken to handle the fruit carefully during harvesting’ packing and transport. A considerable amount of wastage develops after the fruit is discharged from the ship’s hold. Tn an investigation with New Zealand apples, Stunner Pippins were found to takq more than twice as long to reach the retail shop as Cox’s Orange Pippins. APPLE EXPORT. CONTINENTAL TRADE. a Gloomy outlook. From reports recently received in this country it is evident that orchardists in the Dominion do not fully appreciate the seriousness of the financial situation in Europe. Nor have they grasped the fact that, although the marketing of their produce in Continental markets last season was unsatisfactory, it was a great good fortune that it was not much worse. Mr J. L. Brown (London representative of the New Zealand Fruit Control Hoard) is finding it impossible to make arrangements with the Continent for next season’s output. In Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lottland. Austria, and Hungary, the Covernmnets have ph'ced an embargo on the buying of foreign currency for making payments for fresh fruit. In Germany tile import of fresh fruit is under license. Last season 8/5 per cent, of the previous year’s imports were permitted. This lias been reduced by 2/5 tier cent, recently, and at any moment a complete .embargo on the entry of fruit might be proclaimed. There is also the chance of an embargo being placed on the purchase of f ueign currency ; t th ( , time of shipment. “Nothing lias so interested the New Zealand fruitgrowers as the Continental markets,” said Mr Brown, in an interview recently. “For some years this markel was .supplied hv siedl !■ 'ward sales, which were indeed • >■' 1 s. factory in themselves The e I wm'e of .selected varieties, , erai'es ami the eon I rust ; "ere sucii -is '.a hinder us from marketing eoiisiderahle quantities. Last, season, thore-

fold , we broke away from tbe.se isolated sales, and adopted a scheme wliieh promised at least a distribution over the whole of the Continent from Marseilles to Budapest. This .scheme was the more acceptable because it gave us the opportunity to keep off the English markets our large sizes which had proved almost unsaleable there.

“In the early part of our season we were instructed that we would not have more than 300,000 cases for the Continent, and our plans were made accordingly. 'Hie reception and returns for our first two shipments and for some 6000 transhipped from London was very good indeed, and quite equal to our original sales returns. As these shipments were not selected, but consisted of all varieties and grades, we had every reason to congratulate ourselves. Unfortunately, our next shipments were unavoidably delayed, and we had over three weeks when we had no fruit to sell just when prices were at their best. When the Somerset did arrive, on June 10, the full tide of strawberries and peaches filled the Continental markets. To increase our difficulties, six ships arrived in a period of 10 days with 300,000 cases. Many of the varieties. especially the Jonathans, were in a very wasty condition. Immediately afterwaids, the serious financial irisis arose in Germany, and business was at a standstill for some time. The result, of course was disastrous, and naturally a good deal of criticism has been expressed in New Zealand.

“I doubt if it is realised in New Zealand just how seriously the whole scheme was affected by these various obstacles,” said Mr Brown. “The 30'V 000 cases arriving together would break ally market. The wasty fruit destroyed the confidence of the buyer, but the financial crisis did more than anything to reduce prices. Fruit sold in the open'markets independent of the scheme fared just as badly, and in most cases for a lower price. I have managed to secure some average prices of Australian large sizes sold in London at the same time. The average for two,, steamers being 2fin Bs, 3in 7s gross, or 6s 6d and os 7d net resepctivelv, our own Sturmers, 150’s, finding it difficult to make 8s gross.”

WHEY EXTINGUISHES FIRE.

Whey was used as a means of coping with a recent outbreak of fire in the Mangntainoka cheese factory, Wairarapa. The outbreak occurred in an office and was discovered at about 2 a.m. The secretary, members of the factory staff and settlers, by using whey from factory, succeeded in extinguishing the flames. Over £IOO worth of damage was done and a number of old records were destroyed. Only proippt action saved the factory and stores of cheese.

GREAT MONTHLY AVERAGE.

What is probably a record for the number of cows lias been established by a herd of 82 pedigree Jerseys which averaged 521 b. in one recent month under group herd 'test. The herd, which i„s the property of Mr F. Hoskin, Matapu. Taranaki, is managed under ordinary dairying conditions, and its excellent performance furnished striking evidence of the high standard to which the productive ability of our cattle can be raised.

DOMINION WOOL CLIP,

The total offerings of wool a‘t the five roster sales held in the Dominion during December were 87,725 bales, of which 73,131 bales, or 83,36 per cent., were fold. Returns compiled by Dalgety and Co., Ltd., Christchurch, afford ihe following comparison of Dominion wool offerings and sales during the six months of the 1931-33 season, ended December 31, with those of the corresponding period or 11930-31

113,510 89,892 114,417 95.118 Exports of wool from New Zealand last month totalled 73,838 hales. The exports for the six months ended December 31 were 153,961 as compared with 152/759 lialep for Ihe .-orrespmiding period of |L33O. WEST COAST SHOW. The tenth annual show of the West Coast A and I’. Association will he held at Greymouth on Fr day and Saturday, February 26th and 27tli.

1931-2 1930-1 Bales Bales Bales' Bales offd. sold. offd. .sold. Dunedin 15,700 12,678 14,411 12,931 Tiinaru 7,830 6,699 6,355 6.201 Christchurch 21,355 20,264 20,654 19.428 •.Blenheim 39 20 64 47 'Wellington 16.563 21,457 16,981 Wanganui 339 89 10,747 7,466 'Napier 22,411 17,328 19,354 15.912 Gisborne 1,877 1.666 35 35 1 \uckland 23,175 14,375 21,350 16,007