July 2023 - 25

CA STORAGE
Storage Control Systems (SCS), Sparta, Michigan,
designed and built VanDeWalle's CA rooms.
East of Rochester, VanDeWalle Fruit was
established as a farm in 1983 and began packing in
1991. The farm grows on 1,500 acres, 1,100 of which
are in production, said Marshall VanDeWalle, an
owner and member of the family operation. Most of
the apples are grown and packed for Hess Brothers
Fruit Co., Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which directs
VanDeWalle Fruit when to open CA rooms containing
specific varieties.
Before, the company used several storage
locations, with the largest about 15 miles away.
" We had no problem with the stored apples, it was
just time for us to get more vertically integrated, "
VanDeWalle said. " It's about convenience. You have
more control and flexibility, and our storage operator
does a great job, but he's also available to do other
things, so that helps as well. "
Storage science
Successful long-term storage of apples, some of
which need to be edible 11 months after coming off
the tree, is a science. And science is always finding
different - and better - ways to handle fresh
produce after harvest. SCS specializes in dynamic
controlled atmosphere (DCA), which uses lower
oxygen content in CA rooms. CA operators who use
SCS' SafePods, which are basically miniature storage
rooms, can detect potential problems for each
specific variety in storage quickly.
The SafePods are self-contained and hold four
bushels of fruit. Using the same conditions and
gas mixture in the SafePod as in the CA room it is
monitoring, operators can track fruit respiration and
detect conditions that could lead to disorders such as
bitter pit or internal browning.
" We're building controlled atmosphere storages,
but it's not your grandpa's (storage), " said Jim
Schaefer, SCS' president. " Everything is nextgeneration
and that's really what we do in storage
control, allow the grower to concentrate on other
things and let the storages kind of run themselves. "
VanDeWalle said precision is needed to tailor
conditions for each variety. Honeycrisps go in at
50° F, are held for a specific period and then the
temperature is slowly dropped to 38° F. Galas used
to be stored at 32-34° F, but in recent years that has
changed to 37° F. Schaefer said university research
had targeted 1.8% oxygen for long-term storage.
" Well, 1.8% does not work very well for Gala,
because it wants to turn brown on the inside, " he
said. " In long-term CA, if you hold it at a lower oxygen
percent, it will delay the browning so you have the
chance to market (Galas) through June-July. "
FRUITGROWERSNEWS.COM | 25

http://crophesy.com http://www.FRUITGROWERSNEWS.COM

July 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2023

Editor's Letter
Pest Control: The nose knows
Ag Tech: Drone deployment
Cover Story: Keeping it fresh
Irrigation & Water Management: Stressed out
Berries: Pinpoint precision
Plant & Soil Health: What's good for the gooseberry ...
CA Storage: Keeping control
Farm Market & Agritourism: Agreements between growers provide opportunities
CMI
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
July 2023 - 1
July 2023 - 2
July 2023 - 3
July 2023 - Editor's Letter
July 2023 - 5
July 2023 - Pest Control: The nose knows
July 2023 - 7
July 2023 - 8
July 2023 - 9
July 2023 - Ag Tech: Drone deployment
July 2023 - 11
July 2023 - 12
July 2023 - 13
July 2023 - Cover Story: Keeping it fresh
July 2023 - 15
July 2023 - Irrigation & Water Management: Stressed out
July 2023 - 17
July 2023 - Berries: Pinpoint precision
July 2023 - 19
July 2023 - 20
July 2023 - 21
July 2023 - Plant & Soil Health: What's good for the gooseberry ...
July 2023 - 23
July 2023 - CA Storage: Keeping control
July 2023 - 25
July 2023 - Farm Market & Agritourism: Agreements between growers provide opportunities
July 2023 - 27
July 2023 - CMI
July 2023 - 29
July 2023 - Ag Labor Review
July 2023 - 31
July 2023 - Classifieds
July 2023 - 33
July 2023 - Advertiser Index
July 2023 - 35
July 2023 - 36
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