APPLES RESEARCH

Hokitika Guardian, 15 December 1932, Page 8

APPLES RESEARCH

REMARKABLE EMANATIONS'.

EFFECT ON OTHER FRUIT.

I/ON DON, November 1

In his pres-ticnual adares.4 to • the British of Refrigeration in London, Sir "Vv il l lain IL Hardy re-

vealed sonio remarkable facts about 1 ccent resejircu reg..iiding apples. At present biologists are puzzled by reason or hitnerto unsuspected character.istics, tbie ch.it f of which is that some minute emanations from the lru'it profoundly o.iect other forms.

“A stream of air which ha.s passed over an apple,” ' said Sir • William,

•would appear to he harmless to other forms of life, as it is sensibly unchanged chemically or physically. The. appearance is wrong—the air contains some subtle emanations which profoundly iriliuen.ee other vegetable forms. Potatoes placed in 'the stream either do not sprout or, if they .do, the sprouts arc misshapen dwarf.-; mure like warts than anything else. Banana® are excited to a. much more rapid r.penrcg than ordinarily. “Only elderly apples pour out these emana'.ioms, and ts.e effect on young, unripe apples is again curious, for they are stirred to more rapid progress. They ripen more quickly. It is as though the elderly apple' were jealous of youth, and would destroy : t. The emanations are present in the air in the most minute quantifies. Their physiological activity must be prodigious, equalling er even exceeding that of snake venom. Undoubtedly, they are chemical 1 individuals, and an attempt is being made to identify hem. It may suoceced, but the minute traces which alone are present make it difficult.

“Of what use is this power to the apple?” he asked. “Why can it so influence its fellow-vegetables? In that and in the actual nature of the emanation lies the biological puzzle, ft has been'known for some, time that there is a kind of communal life, a herd quality, in apple® when stored together. They tend to and, indeed, they do ripen, at much it he '.same rate. Are the agents of this communal' control these as yet, mysterious emanations? •

“That. may he. But of what use is it to applets, or to> the trees which poor them, in their struggle for a place in the sun? Apples have no power of motion. They do not of tlieir proper volition pac.t themselves in a box Storage, indeed, from the apple point of view, is an alien event forced upon it by certain two-legged machines. That apples can so influence one another is, however, a fact of obvious commercial significance. ’ ’