Studies on the Better Handing of Citrus Fruit

Effect of brush of sorting machine on the citrus damage

Abstract

The test equipment which was furnished with brushing mechanism for washing and applying wax in the process of citrus sorting was manifactured for trial. The extent of damage arisen from several operating conditions of the test equipment was investigated and the following results were obtained.
1. As the result of examining the extent of external injury of summer orange with T. T. C. liquid, the extent of injury of summer orange was varied with the quality and the length of the hair of brushes used for washing.
In the order of extent (1) horse hair, (2) toron, (3) mixed hair (man hair and horse hair) (4) sponge, (5) man hair, (6) towel (Table 1)
2. Variation of Resperating intensity of summer orange after brushihng varied with quality of hair of brush and brushing time.
The severer the injury of summer oranges, the more vigorous the breathing exercise of them. Thirty seconds stimulus by toron brush was severer than thirty minutes stimulus by vibration of 0.7 G acceleration. (Fig. 3)
3. Back-wardly, conjecturing the extent of external injury inflicted by brush hair, from the decay conditions of summer orange in storage, the order of hair which inflicted injury were as follows.
(1) horse hair, toron, mixed hair (2) man hair (3) non-treatment. (Fig. 4)
4. The loss in weight of summer orange in storage was influenced by quality and length of hair of brush.
The severer the injury of orange inflicted by brush, the heavier the loss in weight; i. e. the ranking of loss in weight was consistent with the result of judging the extent of injury by T. T. C. (Fig. 5)
5. It was not distinguished that the brushing affected to the contraction of summer orange. (Fig. 6)
6. The summer orange washed by brush was more softened than non-treatment one.
The severer the external injury of orange, the more remarkable this tendency. (Fig. 7)
7. It was considered that the jumping height of summer orange upon the brush affected to the extent of injury. Next terms were conditions of lowering the jumping height: (1) Low R. P. M. of brush
(2) Spacious clearance between brushes (3) Nearly spherical summer orange (4) Small size and light weight of orange,
Practically, if selection about the former (1) and (2) was done sufficiently, jumping height of orande in brushing lowers and consequently injury lessens. (Fig. 8)
8. On the parts on surface of orange that wounded by brush (which was distinguished by T. T. C.), sometime later, the green mold luxuriated as same as Saturns rings.
In other wards, the brush was medium of mold, therfore the germicide should necessarily be considered at the same time. (Photo. 4)