New Kinki Chugoku Shikoku Agricultural Research

This study considers the labor saving effect and prevention of physical damage realized by using bulk containers（ BC） when shipping carrots. The operation is simplified by the introduction of BCs, and as a result both working time and worker fatigue are reduced. When loading carrots into a BC, it is desirable to avoid dropping them perpendicularly. Furthermore, the falling distance should be less than 80 cm when they are dropped horizontally. The use of a fiberboard floor and a polyethylene inner bag means that any physical damage can be reduced, even if carrots fall 120 cm. A vibration test simulating actual transport conditions showed that there were more carrots exhibiting peeling symptoms in the upper layers than in the lower layers of the stacks/loads. The damage level with random loading exceeded that with arranged loading. From a previous report showing that tight wrapping using an inner bag reduced the acceleration transmissibility and rotation angle, which are causes of damage, it is inferred that BCs will be suitable transport containers for carrots loaded randomly with an inner bag used on a fiberboard floor.

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Early defoliation occurred frequently in ‘Delaware’ grapevines cultivated without pesticides in an open field, probably due to downy mildew disease. The characteristics of the fruits of these grapevines did not differ markedly from those of conventionally cultivated grapevines where pesticides were used, apart from the acidity of the fruit juice, which was somewhat higher in pesticide-free plants. However, severe dieback occurred during winter in the shoots of pesticide-free grapevines, and their condition worsened from year to year. Artificial defoliation to simulate leaf infection was applied to ‘Delaware’ grapevines from May to September under various conditions. Trimming all the leaves from a shoot from the end of May to mid-June resulted in a lower berry weight, paler skin color, and lower sugar content, and higher acidity of the juice. The winter dieback of the shoots was induced more severely by the artificial defoliation in July than in May to June. Therefore, the leaf damage that emerged under pesticide-free cultivation probably reduced photosynthesis assimilation after stage III of the fruit growth. The winter dieback of shoots due to early defoliation probably weakened the grapevines; however, it had little effect on fruit quality.

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