2021 Apple Maturity Report

2021 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.

(Note that you can click on any apple image to get a close-up and scroll through the pictures)

date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
10/29 Goldrush none 2.9 10 on some, otherwise green-yellow 20 10.8 1.40 2-3-4-5? not good, too heavy a crop, brix is poor goldrush102921
10/29 Evercrisp nil 3.0 85 dull but getting better 16 12.4 0.91 7.5-8 heavy crop, lots of leaf drop (marssonina), poor color overall but getting better finally evercrisp102921
10/20 Cripps Pink 'Maslin' none 3.0 65+ bright 14 12.3 NA 6.5 Nice look, heavy crop, variable maturity/readiness to pick, will need 2 picks at least crippspink102021
10/20 Evercrisp nil 3.1 65 dull 16 12.3 NA 6-7 mostly   evercrisp102021
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
10/11 RubyRush none 3.4 80 18 13.1 0.88 3, 6.5? meh?, 1 with watercore, rather late harvest? DA range = 0.53-1.08 rubyrush101121
10/12 Crimson Gold nil 3.0 65 bright 14 13.2 0.37 7-8 nice apple, heavy crop crimsongold101221
10/12 Snowsweet nil 3.3 60 a bit dulle 14 12.5 1.03 8? an OK apple, has not gained much traction snowsweet101221
10/11 Ambrosia none 2.8 65 dullish 18 11.3 0.73 4-6-7 starting to decect some skin greasiness, need to harvest ASAP ambrosia101121
10/11 Ludacrisp none 3.0 60 16 14.7 0.84 6-7-8 stem end russet; flavore is unique, licorice-like? ludacrisp101121
10/11 Mutsu (Crispin) nil 3.3 0 16 11.3 1.52 4-7 lots of leaf drop from marssonina mutsu101121
10/11 Suncrisp none 3.2 10 16.5 12.5 1.00 5-6-7 could start to pick based on change from green to yellow and larger apples suncrisp101121
10/11 Gibson Golden Delicious few 3.1 0 14.5 12.7 1.07 7 DA range = 0.69-1.31; skin still green mostly but harvest ASAP goldendelicious101121
10/11 Ashmead's Kernel nil 2.8 0 19 12.8 1.41 3-4-5-6 pick easy, ready for fresh eat harvest ashmeadskernel101121
10/11 Golden Russet nil 2.8 0 24 14.1 0.78 3.5 wait a week goldenrusset101121
10/11 Cripps Pink 'Maslin' none 3.0 55 15 11.1 0.77 4-5+ other than appearance, not sure what it has going for it? wait a week? crippspink101121
10/11 Fuji 'Brak' none 3.0 55 dull 14 12.1 1.45 6-7 over-cropped trees, will never develop good quality or sugar brakfuji101121
10/11 Cameo 'Caudle cv.' none 3.3 75 striped 14.5 11.9 1.22 3-4-5-6-7? hard to hate this apple, hard to love this apple? cameo101121
10/12 Empire 'Thome' nil 3.0 near 100 14 11.6 1.24 6 very nice empire101221
10/12 Idared some 3.3 65 14 11.2 0.89 4-5 kind of tart still idared101221
10/12 Evercrisp nil 3.2 65 very dull 16 (14-17) 12.1 1.25 4-5-6? taste sweet, good, could start harvest soon but red color lacking and marssonina evercrisp101221
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
10/4 Delicious few 3.0 95+ 16 11.9 1.04 3-4-5 start harvest delicious100421
10/4 Cortland (Redcort) some 3.4 80 13 12.8 NA 3-6 need to be harvested ASAP cortland100421
10/4 Macoun some 3.1 75 14 12.4 NA 3-5 some bitter pit, harvest macoun100421
10/4 Empire (Tome) none 3.0 95-100 14 10.8 NA 5-6+ very heavy crop empire100421
10/4 Gibson Golden Delicious none 3.2 0 14 11.6 0.98 6-7 ready to start harvest of largest apples goldendelicious100421
10/4 Mutsu (Crispin) few 3.4 0 17 10.3 1.56 3-6 need another week mutsu100421
10/4 Jonagold nil 3.4 50-75 13.5 13.2 0.53 7 harvest ASAP jonagold100421
10/4 Spencer nil 3.4 65-75 13 12.4 0.91 6-7 ready for harvest, some bitter rot spencer100421
10/4 Ambrosia none 2.7 40 15 10.3 0.80 4-6-7 should start harvest ambrosia100421
10/4 RubyRush none 3.5 60 18 11.6 0.76 3-4-5 could use another week? rubyrush100421
10/4 Ludacrisp none 3.1 55 17 14.8 0.94 5-6? interesting flavor, test again in a week ludacrisp100421
10/4 Golden Russet (cider) few 2.8 0 26 13.6 0.94 2-5 barely needs another week at least goldenrusset100421
10/4 Liberty nil 2.9 90 18.5 11.5 NA 3-4+ should be harvested liberty100521
10/5 Crimson Topaz none 3.1 70 15 11.7 0.59 4-5-6 could start harvest topaz100521
10/6 Modi none 3.0 95 21 12.5 1.01 3.5? had ReTain, very nice, clean crop modiapples100621
10/6 DS-41 (Pazazz) few 3.4+ 65 10 (9-12) 10.6 1.01 5-6-7 had ReTain pazazz100721
10/8 Foxwhelp (cider) few 3.5 25 barely 14.5 13 1.14 3-5 ugly apple, still kind of green foxwhelp100821
10/8 Caville Blanc  nil 3.6 0-25 17 12.8 1.54 3-5 flyspeck! cavilleblanc100821
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
9/28 Jonagold nil 3.6+ 55 13 12.4 NA* 7-8 Ready for 1st pick on color, some sunburn noted jonagold092821
9/27 Honeycrisp few 3.2 75 13 11.8 NA 7-8 No good reason not to pick all as long as there is red color honeycrisp092721
9/27 Lindamac McIntosh some 3.2 85 13.5 11.2 NA 4-6 ReTain doing it's job lindamac092721
9/27 Rogers Red McIntosh significant 3.5 85 13 12.2 NA 5.5-7 No ReTain, right on schedule, pick ASAP rogersmac092721
9/27 Cortland nil 3.4 85 15 11.9 NA 3-4 Eating OK now, economically ripe for sure cortland092721
9/27 Empire none 2.9 95 16 10.8 NA 3-5 Need another week on the tree empire092721
9/27 Macoun yes 3.2 50 dull 12.1 12.1 NA 3+ I imagine harvest has started but could use more time to develop deep red color and better variety flavor macoun092721
9/27 Liberty nil 2.9 80 21 12.3 NA 2-3.5 Need another 5-7 days on tree but watch close liberty092721
9/27 Morning Mist Fuji nil 3.2 75 10.5 11.5 NA 7-8+ Need harvest ASAP, heavy crop trees still green mmfuji092721
9/27 Ambrosia none 3.2 55 16 12.1 NA 5-6 Light crop on young trees, had ReTain but harvest soon ambrosia092721
9/27 Golden (Delicious) Glory nil 3.1 0-5 14 11.5 NA 4-7+ Could hold off harvest for a week goldenglory092721
9/27 Firecracker nil 3.1 60 18 13.9 NA 4-7 Off light crop trees, heavy crop trees still green/look different firecracker092721
9/27 Redfield (cider) none 2.8 95+ 19 9.6 NA 2-3 Very tart/astringent still redfield092721
9/27 Ashmead's Kernel (cider) few 2.8 0 22 11.9 NA 2-8 Variable maturity, pick early for fresh eating otherwise get "punky" ashmeadskernel092721
              * DA meter not working this week      
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
9/20 Buckeye Gala none 3.0 95 16 11.0 0.77 4-7 had ReTain, background color still a bit on the green side, harvest by end of week though buckeyegala092021
9/20 Marshall McIntosh few 3.2 75-80 13 11.4 NA 5.5 Pick ASAP, had ReTain marshallmac092021
9/20 Lindamac McIntosh few 3.1 80 13 11.3 NA 3.5-5.5 Had ReTain, still look good but could be harvested any day lindamac092021
9/20 SnappyMac McIntosh significant 3.2 80 13 11.5 NA 6 heavy drop, otherwise nice snappymac092021
9/20 Rogers Red McIntosh some 3.3 70-75 12 11.2 NA 4.5-6 a later Mac, pick end of week rogersredmac092021
9/20 Cortland (Redcort?) nil 3.6 large 85 15 11.5 NA 1-2-3 fly speck, starch index not too reliable, could use another week cortland092021
9/20 Empire (Tome?) none 2.9 90 18 11.5 NA 3 need another week at least empire092021
9/20 Macoun push-off 3.3 50-90 14 13.1 NA 3-3.5 still very tart, one with moldy core, don't even dream of picking until last week of September macoun092021
9/20 Honeycrisp some 3.3 70 12 11.6 0.41 7-8 A7, quite a bit of drop, B.9 trees not adequately thinned = poor color honeycrisp092021
9/20 Honeycrisp some 3.5 65 11.5 10.5 0.35 7-8+ 2010 NC-140, bitter pit, rots, fly speck; getting ferment flavor, some over-ripe? honeycrispbp092021
9/20 Morning Mist Fuji none 3.2 75 12 13.4 0.37 6.5-8 slight water core; off modest crop trees, heavy cropped trees still "green" mmfuji092021
9/20 Cordera significant 3.4 35 barely 14 11.9 1.35 3.5-7 Cornell scab-resistant, lots of bitter pit, cork spot, very ugly at this point cordera092021
9/20 Alkmene (Early Windsor) some 3.1 largest apples 25-50 13 12.4 0.58 4-8 one with watercore, seeds are brown, prone to cracking and thus rots, rather slow to mature, cider apple but unique flavor too alkmene092021
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
9/13 Buckeye Gala none 3.0 90 16 11.1 0.71 3.5-7 ready for 1st pick, largest apples and singles first buckeyegala091321
9/13 Marshall McIntosh some 3.0 65 NA 10.6 NA 3.5-5 ready for 1st pick, an early McIntosh marshallmac091321
9/13 Lindamac McIntosh nil 3.1 75-80 13 10.5 NA 4-6 nice, ready for 1st pick (barely) but had ReTain so could wait a week, little drop so far lindamac091321
9/13 Rubymac® McIntosh nil 3.1 95 14 9.9 NA 4-5+ good to go based on color, but best flavor will be in a week rubymac091321
9/13 Honeycrisp some 3.4 50 barely 15.5 12.2 0.89 3-8 ready for 1st pick based on red color and background color change honeycrisp091321
9/13 Royal Red Honeycrisp few 3.2 75-80 15 10.2 0.64 7.5-8 color a bit muddy, not 'royal red' yet, but flavor is good rrhoneycrisp091321
9/13 Cortland nil 3.4 large 85 15 11.4 NA 1-4 seeds not fully brown, hint of watercore, need another week cortland091321
9/13 Crispie (pear) significant 2.8 NA 6 (4-8) 9.6 0.71 NA used pear tip for firmness, very nice pear, psylla-resistant crispiepear091321
9/10 Pink Luster few 3.3 55 17.5 11.7 0.32 5-6 stem end cracking and other defects, SBFS, bland/mild flavor pinkluster091021
9/10 Alkmene some <3.2 35 16 12.5 0.61 3.5-6 some rots, not ripening fast, aka Early Windsor, cider apple but rather unique fresh flavor alkmenetree090921
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
9/6 Zestar! some 3.4 60 12 12.3 0.60 6-8 Last call, getting soft, heavy crop; not sure about/why the increase in DA and decrease in brix from a week ago, might have been from a different block or this block already picked zestar090621
9/6 Ginger Gold nil 3.4 NA 15 11.6 0.56 4-6 At peak, larger apples quite ripe, smaller apples still on the green side; heavy crop gingergold090621
9/6 Buckeye Gala none 2.9 85 17 10.1 0.60 3.5-7 could use another week to develop variety flavor and sugar, some variable maturity buckeyegala090621
9/6 Marshall McIntosh few 3.0 60 15.5 10.3 NA 4 could start harvest, will be better in a week marshallmac090621
9/6 Lindamac McIntosh few 3.0 75 15 10.8 NA 3-5 had ReTain, coming along, pick in a week lindamac090621
9/7 Rubymac McIntosh nil 3.0 95 14 9.2 NA 4-6+ should be harvested within a week rubymac090621
9/6 Honeycrisp
(1 of 3)		 few 3.2 50 15 10.5 0.70 4-7.5 flyspeck, rots, bitter pit, rough look; not adequately thinned honeycrisp1on090621
9/6 Honeycrisp
(2 of 3)		 few 3.2 70 15 11.2 0.73 6-8 might be Firestorm/Cameron Select? honeycrisp2on090621
9/6 Honeycrisp
(3 of 3)		 few 3.4 60 14 10.5 0.74 6-7 spot-pick based on color honeycrisp3on090621
9/6 Summerset some 3.6 50+ dull 11 10.9 0.60 4-7+ Green, need another week at least summerset090721
9/6 MAIA-SM none 3.2 90 16 11.5 0.61 7-8 1 with watercore, very attractive, a winner maia-sm090621
9/6 Pink Luster few 3.3 45 17.5 10.7 0.49 6 touch of moldy core, moderatly attractive and flavor, mild (low-acid), not outstanding for sure though pinkluster090621
9/6 Minnieska (SweeTango) nil 3.1 60 13 11.8 0.35 6-7 very heavy crop, at it's peak FWIW minneiska090621
9/3 Blondee (TFF) none 2.9 NA 19 10.4 0.73 3-4.5 could use another week, had ReTain blondee090321
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
8/30 Zestar! few 3.2 60 12 14 0.27 6.5 Flavor coming on nice, spot pick, leave what you can for another week zestar083021
8/30 Ginger Gold none 3.1 NA 15 10.8 0.85 3-4 Heavy crop, still kind of "green" but go for it! gingergold083021
8/30 Silken nil 3.2 NA 14 10.8 0.32 4 Look nice, could be harvested now but will get better within a week silken083021
8/30 Buckeye Gala none 2.8 85 dull 17 10.9 0.95 3-7 Green, need another week at least buckeyegala083021
8/30 Akane nil 3.0 80 15 11.8 0.57 6-8 Need to be harvested ASAP akane083021
8/30 MAIA-SM none 3.2 95 dark red 15 11.1 0.61 8   maia-sm083021
8/30 Lindamac McIntosh nil 2.9 65 dull 16 10.6 NA 3.5 Still green, need another week lindamac083021
8/30 RubyMac® McIntosh none 3.0 85+ 14 9.1 NA 4 Still green, need another week despite nice color! rubymac083021
8/30 Alkmene (aka Early Windsor) few 2.8 25 orange-blush 14 12.1 0.69 4-8 Prone to cracking; variable maturity, watch closely; complex flavor, this is a cider apple alkmene083021
8/30 St. Edmunds Russet some 3.2 0 8 (6-10) NA 0.70 4-5-7 Dry flesh, some mushiness, inedible; cider apple stedmundsrusset083021
8/30 MN55 (Rave, First Kiss) some 3.3 85 13 11.8 0.50 5-8 Uneven maturity but ReTain helps control drop; need first pick on color for sure; one with stem-end crack and watercore MN55on083021
8/30 DS-22 (River Belle) some, yes 3.2 45 striped 12 10.8 0.23 8 Pretty rough look, the usual, russet, moldy core, cracking; uneven maturity; somewhat greasy; overall not worth harvesting riverbelle083021
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
8/23 Sansa few 2.9 55 13 11.5 0.51 3-7 good crop load, ready to harvest sansa082321
8/23 Premier Honeycrisp some 3.4 65 at best 13 11.7 0.62 6-7 being harvested on best color premierhoneycrisp082321
8/23 Ginger Gold none 3.3 NA 18 10 1.12 2 getting there, should wait another week yet gingergold082321
8/23 Zestar! some 3.0 45 13 11.6 0.64 6-7 color pick, but good color slow to come on zestar!082321
8/23 Paulared few 3.3 80 15? 10.9 NA 4-5-6 one with watercore, being harvested paulared082321
8/23 Akane none 3.4 80 16 13.4 0.58 6-7   akane082321
8/23 Lindamac McIntosh nil 2.8 50 barely 17 10.9 NA 3-3.5 at least a week away lindamac082321
8/24 RubyMac® McIntosh none 3.1 95 14 8.8 NA 3.5-4 heavy crop, still green, seeds are white, 111 DAFB rubymac082421
date Cultivar pre-harvest drop fruit diameter inches color % red firmness lbs soluble solids DA Index starch index comments Image
8/16 Sansa nil 3.0 45 18 15 0.27 3-4 light crop; 1 with water core; ready for 1st pick on lightly cropped trees sansa081621
8/16 Premier Honeycrisp nil 3.2 50 13 11.3 0.52 6-7 ready (barely) for 1st pick on color premierhoneycrisp081621
8/16 Ginger Gold none 3.1 NA 17 10 1.28 1-3 heavy crop, immature, seeds white, wait a week gingergold081621
8/16 Zestar! nil 3.0 40 14 10.9 0.69 4-5-6 heavy crop, color lacking (ReTain?), wait another week please! gingergold081621
8/16 Paulared nil 3.1 70 15 10.8 NA 3-5 2 with watercore; OK, but I would not rush it paulared081621