General comments on 08/21/2009 apple harvest: maturity does not appear to be overly advanced nor overly retarded. I am a little concerned about the condition of large, early fruit because of this heat and the potential for sunburn. You may want to consider applying Surround to Honeycrisp to prevent sunburn if the hot, sunny, weather continues. Ginger Gold is also ready for the 1st pick based on some testing I did on 19-August. JC
| Cultivar | date | pre-harvest drop | fruit diameter inches | color % red | firmness lbs | soluble solids | starch index | comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akane | 08/21/2009 | few | 3.2 | 75 | 17 | 14.2 | 6.9 (5-7) | younger trees with a lightish crop; quality is sub-par; some water core and sunburn (internal flesh browning); some flyspeck |
| Zestar! | 08/21/2009 | none | 3.2 | 35 | 14.2 | 15.1 | 4.5 (3-6) | lacking red color but otherwise excellent; fruit in very nice condition; definitely ready to go, but would like to see better color |
| Sansa | 08/21/2009 | none | 3.1 | 65 | 14 (13-16) | 13.7 | 5 (4-7) | a nice early apple reminiscent of Gala; ready to pick but will develop better varietal flavor with time; a touch of water core |