2017 Apple Maturity Report
All observations from UMass Orchard, Belchertown, MA unless otherwise noted
Questions, comments: 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 |  |
| 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 |  |
| 2-October | Empire | none | 3.05 | 95 | 17.2 | 12 | NA | 4-6 | Royal(?) Empire, very nice, ready to pick for storage |  |
| 2-October | Golden Delicious (Gibson cv.) | none | 3 | NA | 14.3 | 13 | 1.39 | 6-7 |
could start harvest despite appearing quite green |
 |
| 2-October | Liberty | some | 3 | 100 | 14.6 | 14 | NA | 4-8 |
should have been picked by now, quality will deteriorate rapidly |
 |
| 2-October | Cripps Pink (Maslin cv.) | some | 3.2 | 80 | 15.3 | 14.4 | 0.47 | 5-6 |
lightly cropped trees should be picked |
 |
| 2-October | Jonagold | nil | 3.2 | 60 | 14.2 | 13.6 | 0.64 | 7 | some watercore, need to be harvested |  |
| 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?) |  |
| 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 |  |
| 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 |
 |
| 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 :-) |
 |
| 17-September | Buckeye Gala | none | 2.8 | 95 | 17 | 12.2 | 0.40 | 6.5 |
very nice, should be harvested ASAP |
 |
| 16-September | Honeycrisp | significant | 3.4 | 75 | 14.2 | 13.3 | 0.33 | 7.5 | at the end of Honeycrisp harvest |  |
| 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 |  |
| 4-September | Rubymac | nil | 2.9 | 95 + | 15.5 | 10.6 | NA | 4.5 (4-5.5) | quite green despite red color; start harvest? |  |
| 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 |
 |
| 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 |
 |
| 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 |
 |
| 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 |  |
| 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?) |  |
| 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) |
 |
| 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 |
 |
| 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 |
 |
| 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... |  |
