Harvest seems to be progressing nicely. Last week's heat and humidity slowed things a bit, and we saw more fruit dropping, but now the cool (almost cold!) weather should really move things along in terms of apple maturity and color development. This is the last week for picking McIntosh destined for long-term CA storage, and most Honeycrisp harvest should wrap-up this week. Gala are finally ready for full-steam-ahead harvest, and Cortland are just barely there. Note that my comments on maturity are based on the "average," and some of you (Stow!) may be a bit ahead while others (Hawley!) will be many days behind. That's about all I can see as getting the fruit picked should be a high priority for everyone right now. JC
Apple fruit maturity report for September 14-16, 2013
Note: most all observations from UMass Cold Spring Orchard (unless otherwise noted), Belchertown, MA and prepared by Jon Clements
| Date | Variety | Drop |
Diameter (inches) |
% Red Color |
Firmness (lbs.) |
Brix |
Starch Index |
Comments |
| 9/16 | Honeycrisp | few |
3.4 |
85 |
14.7 |
12.4 |
6 (5-7) |
at their peak, finish picking this week |
| 9/16 | Redcort Cortland | none |
3.4 |
80 |
14.8 |
9.9 |
2 |
not at their best, may have been treated with ReTain, hold off harvest if you can |
| 9/14 | Cherry Gala | none |
2.9 |
95 |
17 |
12.8 |
5.6 (4-8) |
a new Gala strain from Brandt's; at their peak, ready to pick |
| 9/16 | Buckeye Gala | none | 2.85 |
95 |
18.5 |
10.5 |
5 (3-8) |
mostly ready to harvest, small size, over-cropped trees = low sugar |
| 9/14 | Snappy Mac McIntosh | some |
3.0 |
80 |
16 |
12.7 |
5 (4-6) |
at peak, excellent red color, this is a nice Mac strain |
| 9/16 | Lindamac McIntosh | few |
3.0 |
90 |
14.6 |
11.5 |
4.5 (3.5-6) |
ready to harvest all (one pick) |
UMass Fruit Advisor: http://umassfruit.com
UMass Fruit Notes: http:umassfruitnotes.com
Scaffolds Fruit Journal: http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scafolds/
Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA): http://newa.cornell.edu
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2013 New England Tree Fruit Management Guide (http://fruit.umext.umass.edu/2013netfmg/)
The next (and last for 2013) Healthy Fruit (maturity report) will be published on Tuesday, September 24 or thereabouts, 2013. As always feel free to get in touch with any member of the UMass Fruit Team (http://extension.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/team-members) if you have questions or comments.