Summary: Overall objective: To understand the factors that influence fruit finish of apples and develop and implement management procedures that will lead to better fruit finish for growers. A number of specific objectives related to improving fruit finish are outlined below: 1. Expand the development and field testing of a new sensor and control system for evaporative cooling of apples to provide better sunburn protection, more efficient water use and improved fruit finish of apples. 2. Investigate the causes of the disorder called “flecking” in ‘Fuji’ apples and study ways to prevent its occurrence. 3. Characterize a third type of sunburn, discovered late in the 2002 season, that occurs when shaded fruit is suddenly exposed to sunlight even though air temperatures are low. This disorder differs from sunburn necrosis and sunburn browning which are induced at much higher fruit surface temperatures. 4. Investigate color development as it relates to the above disorders and improving fruit finish. 5. Investigate causes of lenticel marking and ways to reduce lenticel breakdown during cold storage.
