ensions Permissible additional radial forces at lo B4-CH13A Bevel-helical gear Reduction Box B4

Flender/Flender Gear Units/Bevel-helical gear Reduction Box B4

that point in the development scale when the horticultural commodity is in state that is readyto use (process, store) or to eat. The breadth of the implications of the term mature may be appreciated by considering commodity such as bean sprouts, which are mature at very young physiological age, versus apples, in which maturity occurs toward the end of the development cycle. These two products span the maturity scale perceived from both achronological and physiological development perspective. Both products are mature whenready to use or eat. Clearly, the term mature also depends upon context for interpretive precision in spite of attempts at term denitions (Watada et al., . As further compli-cation, with commodity like apples, which have serial customers such as packinghouse/storage facility followed by retail outlets and in turn by the retail customer, maturity may carry different meanings. For the packing house, maturity means suitability for stor- age followed by sufcient shelf life to assure protable supply to markets. On the otherhand, the retail consumer may value color, avor, or textural attributes. This implies twodenitions of maturity and an appropriate compromise must be achieved through the mar-keting process. 4 Beveridge Fig. 1 Stages of development and senescence based on physiological processes and usage of horticultural crops. (From Watada et al., 1.) Quality, on the other hand, relates to the degree of satisfaction that the consumer or customer is likely to obtain through the use of the mature commodity. Clearly, thissatisfaction is likely to be diminished if the commodity is over- or undermature, so thatoptimal quality is only obtainable at optimal maturity. Because of this equation, maturityand quality are interrelated and with market expectations or requirements. These expecta- Grades for Fruits and Vegetables 4 tions or requirements are expressed through regulations or guidelines published by grower groups, through contractual arrangemen