HARVEST SPEED AND EFFICIENCY IN SUMMER SQUASH AS AFFECTED BY FRUIT COLOR

Summer squash is a labor-intensive crop.
Before planting, the farmer must take into account the availability and cost of labor during the prospective harvest season.
Cultivars which could be harvested faster and more efficiently would offer considerable advantage to the grower either by allowing him to expand his acreage or by cutting his costs.
Two zucchini cultivars having dark green fruits, Ambassador and Bareqet, and one having golden-yellow fruits, Goldy, were compared for speed and efficiency of harvest.
Goldy was harvested faster than the green-fruited cultivars by 18% on a per plot basis, by 20% on a per fruit basis, by 26% per marketable fruit and by 33% per grade A fruit.
The three cultivars produced identical marketable and Grade A yields, but Goldy had a higher quality yield (percent marketable and percent Grade A fruits). Nearly 7% of the green fruits were overlooked during harvesting as compared with 1% of the Goldy fruits.

Symposium on the Timing of Field Production of Vegetables

H.S. Paris, H. Nerson

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1987.198.31