Left: Gala is most susceptible to lenticel breakdo wn. Mild cases resemble chemical burn, and lenticels turn black. Right: In more severe cases, like the Fuji pictured here, flesh under the lenticels sinks, resulting in craters under the skin. Lenticel breakdown is a skin disorder of apples that appears largely after the fruit has been packed and thus is an expensive problem. The postharvest team at Washington State University in Wenatchee has been researching lenticel breakdown for the past five years. I am sorry to report that there appears to be no single solution. Minimizing this costly disorder will take […]