2017 Apple Maturity Report

2017 Apple Maturity Report

All observations from UMass Orchard, Belchertown, MA unless otherwise noted

Questions, comments: jon[dot]clements[at]umass[dot]edu (Jon Clements) 413-478-7219

Note: target maturity indeces: red color, >50%; firmness, >14 lbs.; soluble solids, >12; DA, 0.60 to 0.40 for Honeycrisp, 0.65 for Gala, 1.00 for Golden Delicious, 1.15 to 1.00 for Red Delicious (higher DA = more "green"); starch index, 4-6.

date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
12-October Mutsu (Crispin) some 3.3 NA 17.6 12.7 1.48 3.5-7.5 some drop, variable maturity Mutsu (Crispin) apple
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
2-October Ambrosia nil 2.9 75 17.7 13.7 0.42 6.5 nice, some scab, off plant patent now, you should be planting some, tastes like a fruit salad Ambrosia
2-October Empire none 3.05 95 17.2 12 NA 4-6 Royal(?) Empire, very nice, ready to pick for storage Empire
2-October Golden Delicious (Gibson cv.) none 3 NA 14.3 13 1.39 6-7

could start harvest despite appearing quite green

 Golden Delicious (Gibson cv.)
2-October Liberty some 3 100 14.6 14 NA 4-8

should have been picked by now, quality will deteriorate rapidly

 Liberty
2-October Cripps Pink (Maslin cv.) some 3.2 80 15.3 14.4 0.47 5-6

lightly cropped trees should be picked

 Cripps Pink (Maslin cv.)
2-October Jonagold nil 3.2 60 14.2 13.6 0.64 7 some watercore, need to be harvested Jonagold

 

date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
20-September Macoun some 3.1 75 15 11.4 NA 4 (3-6) economically ready for harvest, could wait until next week, uneven maturity, drop, looseness (why do we like this apple so much?) Macoun
19-September Morning Mist Fuji none 3.05 60 14.3 11.9 1.13 6.5 very nice early Fuji (the best) could wait 5-6 days for harvest Morning Mist Fuji
19-September Lindmac McIntosh significant 3.1 90 13.9 11.7 NA 5.9

lots of drop, harvest of non-ReTain Macs should wrap-up ASAP

 Lindmac McIntosh
18-September Redcort Cortland none 3.4 85 15.4 11.8 NA 1.5 to 2

still green, although appear to be economically ripe :-)

 Redcort Cortland
17-September Buckeye Gala none 2.8 95 17 12.2 0.40 6.5

very nice, should be harvested ASAP

 Buckeye Gala
16-September Honeycrisp significant 3.4 75 14.2 13.3 0.33 7.5 at the end of Honeycrisp harvest Honeycrisp

 

date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
4-September Lindamac McIntosh nil 3.05 65 striped 15 11 NA 4 (3-5) still pretty green, wait a week to pick Lindamac McIntosh
4-September Rubymac nil 2.9 95 + 15.5 10.6 NA 4.5 (4-5.5) quite green despite red color; start harvest? Rubymac
4-September Buckeye Gala none 2.75 80 19.8 11.3 0.89 2.7 (1.5 to 4.5)

touch of background color change, DA says it all, should be 0.7 or less, needs a week to develop variety flavor

 Buckeye Gala
4-September Royal Red Honeycrisp nil 3.0 75 15 12.2 0.72 6.5 (6-7)

DA not quite there, but harvest imminent

 Royal Red Honeycrisp
4-September Honeycrisp some (push-off?) 2.9 60 16.2 10.9 0.68 5.5 (3.5-7.5)

over-cropped trees = poor quality Honeycrisp, so wait a bit to pick

 Honeycrisp

 

date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
23-August Ginger Gold nil 3.1 NA 15.9 10.6 1.20 2-3 mostly, one was 5-6 could wait another week, but getting there; starch index not too reliable gingergold082317
23-August Paulared few 3.25 70 12.7 10.7 1.22 5-7, mostly 5-6 some watercore, looks like uneven maturity, good for applesauce (that's about it?) paulared082317
23-August Sansa nil 2.9 65 14.6 13.5 0.28 3-6.5, average about 5

calyx russet, nice flavor, touch of watercore definitely ready; premium early apple but appearance lackluster; only question is are they going to kill Sansa off in GoT??? (no, apparently not yet)

 sansa082317
23-August Zestar! nil 3.0 40 13.9 12.1 0.83 4-6, average 5

bruise easily, heavy crop, color could be much better, otherwise ready to harvest

 zestar082317
23-August Akane none 2.8 65 18 12.3 0.97 5-6

probably ready to start harvest, hard to pin this one down, could certainly wait a while too

 akane082317
22-August Premier Honeycrisp (DAS 10) some 3.2 50 12.8 11.6 0.64 6 (4-8) n=5; not bad, pick by color, significant drop off 2nd-leaf trees; the Honeycrisp harvest season is now almost a month long... premierhoneycrisp082217