TO: Apple Growers in Southeast Michigan
MSU Extension Fruit Educators and Specialists
FROM: Bob Tritten
District Extension Fruit Educator
SUBJECT: Apple Harvest Update Report #2 –
APPLE HARVEST SUMMARY
Growers are on the downhill
side of finishing off Gala harvest across the region, and are working away at
McIntosh harvest. Gala’s
are around 60% to 80% harvested, with Mac’s being about 40% harvested. Many McIntosh blocks and strains are on the
green side at this time and need more time to mature. Honeycrisp have been harvested once at many
farms, and are ready for a light second picking at this time. Empire,
Variety |
Color
(Range) |
Firmness
(Range) |
Starch
(Range) |
Brix |
|
McIntosh |
65% (49-79%) |
16.9 lbs (14.6-18.7) |
3.9 (2.9-5.2) |
12.3% |
|
Gala |
80% (55-94%) |
20.7 lbs (17.5-23.6) |
3.8 (1.5-6.8) |
13.3% |
|
Honeycrisp |
45% (14-65%) |
17.4 lbs (15.4-18.7) |
3.2 (1.6-4.0) |
14.1% |
|
Empire |
52% (39-64%) |
18.6 lbs (17.9-19.2) |
2.4 (2.0-2.8) |
11.0% |
|
|
62% (40-75%) |
17.3 lbs (16.1-18.8) |
1.2 (1.0-1.6) |
12.6% |
|
Jonagold |
41% (7-74%) |
19.0 lbs (17.8-20.2) |
2.0 (1.8-2.2) |
12.8% |
|
Jonathan |
40% (25-50%) |
18.8 lbs (15.8-22.0) |
2.0 (2.0-2.0) |
12.1% |
INDIVIDUAL VARIETY RESULTS
McIntosh were sampled for the second week this season, with a good
number of samples from across the region.
In some cases the strains sampled needed to be changed because some that
were sampled last week had been harvested in the meantime. For the second year in a row, we are picking
Gala ahead of McIntosh this year. Ethylene
levels in McIntosh were showing at 24% of fruit were about .02 parts per
million (ppm). While this is lower than
last week, remember that I needed to switch many strains. Color in McIntosh is 65%, about the same as
last week, with a range of 49% to 79%.
The pressure has dropped from 17.5 lbs last week to 16.9 lbs this
week. Starch has risen from 3.4 last
week to 3.9 this week, which would be a typical rise during hot weather
conditions. Brix has remained nearly the
same at 12.3. McIntosh drop is
continuing in many blocks across the region, however not all of them. It appears that most of this drop is caused
by fruit pushing off the limb as McIntosh has their typical short stem. However Mac’s picked very easy for the second
week in a row this season, and I am always concerned about the possibility of
heavy wind coming along and causing drop.
When I look over the tops of bins of harvested McIntosh, I see that most
farms have poor color this year. The
best advice I can give at this time is for growers to go slow on McIntosh harvest
this year, hoping for better color, flavor and definitely better size. There is a risk in this strategy however in
that if we have a wind storm; there may be some fruit loss on the ground.
Gala were
sampled for the second time of the season, with a good number of block’s
samples. Color has remained the same as
last week, at about 80%. The pressure
has dropped from 23.0 lbs last week to 20.7 lbs this week. The starch index has risen from 1.6 last week
to 3.8 this week. The brix has jumped
from 12.7 last week to 13.3 this week. Close
to 86% of the Gala’s showed internal ethylene levels greater than 0.2 ppm. Many strains of Gala appear to be mature or
over mature at this time for the long-term and controlled atmosphere storage. So my suggestion is that growers concentrate
their effort on picking Gala’s at this point in time to maintain as much fruit
quality as possible. This will most
likely be the last week of the season for sampling Gala. Overall size was a problem this year in
Gala. Lastly, I saw my first bit of stem
end cracking in Gala that was harvested on Monday. This is another one of Gala’s problems that
appears to be accentuated in warmer seasons.
Honeycrisp
were sampled for the second time this year, with a much broader sample than last
week. Just over 77% of fruit showed 0.2
ppm of internal ethylene. Color is all
over the board this year in many blocks of Honeycrisp, ranging from 14% to 65%,
with an average of 45%. Firmness remains
good at 17.4 lbs, although that is quite a drop from last week’s limited sample
of 20.1 lbs. Starch index moved from 2.2
last week to 3.2 this week. The brix has
jumped from 12.2 last week to 14.1 this week.
Most growers have done a light first picking of Honeycrisp over the last
week, and I would say based on the results of this extensive sampling, that
most blocks are ready for a second light picking. However I think that many Honeycrisp fruit need
more time to color and gain better flavor. So, this season I think that the third
picking of Honeycrisp will be our heavy picking, with the fourth a clean up
picking.
Empire were sampled for the first time this year, with 52% color,
and 18.6 lbs pressure. The starch index
is 2.4, which is much higher than I thought it would be. The brix is 11.0 and background color of 3,
out of a scale of 1 – 5. So Empire are
not ready for harvest at this time, however a week to 10 days from now I will
most likely be advising harvest of Empire for controlled atmosphere and
long-term storage, and possibly some fresh market harvest on early maturing
sites.
Jonagold
were sampled for the first time of the year, with 41% color, however range was
wide from 7% to 74%. The fruit is firm
at 19.0 lbs, and the starch index is 2.0.
The brix is currently 12.8. Based
on these samples it appears at this time that Jonagold are ahead of
Jonathan were sampled for the first time this week, and a very small
sample at that. Color has a long ways to
go yet on Jonathan, with 40% color at this time. Fruit is fairly firm at 18.8 lbs and the
starch index is 2.0. The brix reported
at 12.1. Obviously, Jonathan are not
ready for harvest at this time, however they may be ready in 10 to 14 days.
Table 1. 2007 predicted
peak harvest dates.
|
Full bloom date |
Predicted harvest
date |
|
|||||
|
Station |
McIntosh |
Jons |
Reds |
McIntosh |
Jons |
Reds |
Observer |
|
SWMREC |
4-30 |
5-2 |
5-2 |
8-27 |
9-15 |
9-21 |
Shane |
|
|
5-5 |
5-6 |
5-8 |
9-1 |
9-15 |
9-22 |
Tritten |
|
|
5-5 |
5-5 |
5-7 |
9-3 |
9-12 |
9-19 |
Tritten |
|
Peach Ridge |
5-5 |
5-7 |
5-8 |
9-1 |
9-19 |
9-26 |
Schwallier |
|
Ludington |
5-9 |
5-11 |
5-10 |
9-14 |
9-21 |
9-27 |
Danilovich |
|
NWMHRS |
5-11 |
5-11 |
5-11 |
9-9 |
9-18 |
9-24 |
Rothwell |
If you have any questions
regarding this Apple Maturity Harvest Update, don’t hesitate to email me
(tritten@msu.edu) or call (810-732-2177).
If you would like this information sent to you via email instead of fax,
please let me know and that can be accomplished very quickly. This same harvest information is also
available on the SE Michigan Fruit Pest Management Code-A-Phone (810-732-1005).
Project Researchers – Dr. Randy Beaudry MSU
Horticulture Department, and Bob Tritten
This report and project is made possible by the
support of our sponsors which include Gerber Products Company, Michigan Apple
Shippers Association,Valent USA, MSU Project GREEEN, Michigan Apple Research
Committee, Michigan State Horticultural Society, Michigan Agricultural
Experiment Station, and Michigan State University Extension. The growers cooperating by supplying apples
on a weekly basis in Southeast Michigan include AlMar Orchards in Flushing,
Erwin Orchards in