/oI


2/o Circular 4


 *Leave lemons in the grove or at roadside for 24 hours before
transporting to the packinghouse. Note: This instruction is for
lemons only; all other citrus varieties should be transported
to the packinghouse as quickly as possible.
 *Use metal shielded, deciduous -fruit type picking bags
(smaller than citrus bags) for lemons and particularly tender
crops of specialty fruit.
 *Avoid getting sand on fruit. This causes abrasions resulting
in oil spotting. Check pallet boxes for broken or splintered wood
and protruding nails, staples, or bolts. In the packinghouse, elim-
inate sharp corners, rough welding spots, and unnecessarily stiff
or fast brushes.
 *Keep the relative humidity in degreening rooms high (90 to
96% RH) to reduce the darkening of oil spots. This will make oil
spotting less obvious but will not eliminate or reduce it. When
there is a delay before packing in the non-degreening season,
hold fruit in high humidity rooms at ambient temperatures with-
out ethylene to minimize the darkening of oleocellosis lesions.
 *Avoid abrasions of the peel at any time in the handling and
marketing sequence. Remember that the susceptibility of citrus
fruit to oil spotting becomes less as the time between harvest
and handling injury increases.



 FURTHER INFORMATION

 The Cooperative Extension Service, the Florida Department of
Citrus, and the University of Florida continue to evaluate oil
spotting and other peel injuries and postharvest diseases of
citrus fruit. Individual conferences on these and other har-
vesting, packing, and marketing problems can be arranged for
Florida citrus packers by contacting the Harvesting and Han-
dling Section, Agricultural Research and Education Center, Post
Office Box 1088, Lake Alfred, Florida 33850, phone (813)
956-1151.


This public document was printed at an annual cost of $878.41
or 171/2 cents per copy to aid in identifying and combating the
most common peel injury of Florida fresh citrus fruit.
 9 5M -76
 COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS
 (Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914)
 Cooperative Extension Servce, IFAS, University or Florida
 and United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating
 Joe N. Busby. Dean


Cover photo courtesy of Joe Whigham, Florida Division of Fruit and Vege-
 table Inspection, Winter Haven.


potting (Oleocellosis)

 of Citrus Fruit


W. F. Wardowski, A. A. McCornack, W. Grierson
 Agricultural Research and Education Center
 Lake Alfred, Florida 33850





 Florida Cooperative Extension Service
 Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
 University of Florida, Gainesville