Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


escaping oil. The development of green spots may be readily
produced artificially in fruit by applying to the rind, prior to
coloring, either oil squeezed out of citrus fruits or commercial
oil of lemon. The development of green spot is by no means
confined to artificially colored fruit, however, since it may occur
in the grove in connection with fruit-splitting, pumpkin bug
injury, bruising, or any other injury that ruptures the oil cells
in the rind. However, it is less likely to develop on fruit that
remains on the tree than on that which has been placed in stor-
age or put through the coloring room.
 CONTROL OF GREEN SPOT
 The prevention of green spot lies in guarding against injuries
to the fruit which contribute to the escape of oil from the oil
cells of the rind, especially at a time when the surface of the
fruit is wet or when the fruit is not wholly mature and perhaps
especially turgid from recent rains. This requires extremely
careful handling of the fruit in picking and transporting it to
the packinghouse, especially early in the season. Since the
presence of moisture usually increases the development of green
spot, fruit to be colored should not be picked while wet with rain
or dew.
 GRAPEFRUIT BLOTCH
 An unusual type of fruit blotch, recently reported by the senior
author, has been observed to occur extensively on grapefruit in
a number of groves in the vicinity of Auburndale, Polk County.
It occurred as numerous pronounced greenish blotches which
later become dark brown. The blotches vary from irregular to
more or less circular in shape and average about 3/16 inch in
diameter. They closely resemble the greasy spot trouble which
has been of common occurrence on citrus foliage for many years.
In severe cases, the blotches may be so densely crowded as to be
more or less continuous over considerable areas of the fruit
(Fig. 76). They develop in greatest abundance on the lower
sides and bottom of the fruit. The trouble occurs characteristic-
ally on the fruits in the interior of the tree, both in the center
of the crown and near the ground, but rarely on the fruits that
are borne on the outer part of the crown. It occurs more or less
sporadically through the groves exhibiting the trouble, being
of but slight occurrence on the fruits of some trees but of ex-
tensive occurrence on those of others. In the worst cases ob-