Watery breakdown of Bartlett pear

A senescent type of watery breakdown of Bartlett pears, comparable to one that had caused serious losses to processors in 1972, was induced in laboratory tests. Prompt, thorough cooling and low storage temperatures reduced the incidence of the disorder. Precise definition of temperature relationships and the possible effect of other seasonal, climatic, cultural or handling variations must await further studies. The methods and results reported here will provide guides to these studies.