Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


ing, and rough handling in loading, transporting to market, and
after the fruit arrives on the market.
 The first noteworthy investigation of the factors involved in
 blue mold decay were the studies made on oranges and lemons in
 California, which were published by Powell and his coworkers
 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. It was demonstrated
 by numerous field experiments that a large amount of decay re-
 sulted from avoidable injuries to the fruit. The adoption by the
 California growers of methods for the prevention of these in-
 juries resulted in a great reduction of this excessive decay.
 Later, investigations by the U. S. Department of Agriculture,
 published by Tenny, Hosford, and White in 1908, Stubenrauch,
 Ramsey, Tenny, and others in 1914, and by Ramsey in 1915,
 demonstrated the same facts for Florida and also brought out
 much additional information in regard to the relation of grove,
 packinghouse, and shipping conditions to fruit decay.

 CONTROL OF MOLD DECAYS
 Like stem-end rot, the control of mold decay involves pre-
ventive measures in the grove, careful handling and packing by
the shipper, suitable transportation, and proper storage. Grow-
ers, packers, carriers, and consumers are all involved and the
responsibility for losses cannot be arbitrarily assigned to any one
agent. Each must do his part to prevent this enormous waste
and economic loss that results annually from mold decay. The
following different lines of control are recommended.
 1. Careful Handling of the Fruit:-Careful handling of the
fruit at all stages from the time it is picked until it reaches the
consumer, in order to prevent injuries to the rind, is the most
important requisite for the prevention of mold decay. The
foreman of the picking crew is responsible for the prevention of
injuries in the field that cause much of this type of decay. It is
his business to check up carefully on the work of every picker
and reduce to a minimum long stems, clipper cuts, pulled fruit,
scratches with fingernails, and bruises to the fruit resulting from
placing the ladders in the trees, squeezing the fruit in the bags
against the ladders, dropping or throwing it into the bags, drop-
ping it on the ground, emptying the bags roughly into the field
boxes, and filling them too full. He should also examine all
field boxes to see that protruding nails and splinters are re-
moved and see that they are loaded and hauled carefully. It