Michigan statewide apple maturity report – October 2, 2024

William Shane<shane@msu.edu>, Randy Beaudry<beaudry@msu.edu>, Erin Lauwers<lauwerse@msu.edu>, Emily Lavely<lavelyem@msu.edu>, Nikki Rothwell<rothwel3@msu.edu>, Lindsay Brown<brow1111@msu.edu> and Derek Plotkowski<plotkow5@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - October 04, 2024

Keep abreast of the latest apple maturity testing done in different cultivars around the state to optimize harvest times for storage and fresh picking.

apple trees in a line in an orchard — Aztec Fuji in Oceana County Michigan, on Sept. 30. Photo by Emily Lavely, MSU Extension.

This report provides data to compare apple maturity across the state. This will include information from multiple regions, but if available you should consult a maturity report from your specific region. Regional reports will include more information, including updates on harvest extenders and pest and disease management.

Predicted harvest dates

2024 predicted peak harvest dates
	Full bloom date 2024			Predicted harvest date 2024
Station	McIntosh	Jons	Reds	McIntosh	Jons	Reds	Observer
SWMREC	24-Apr	25-Apr	27-Apr	26-Aug	10-Sep	17-Sep	Shane
Deerfield	21-Apr	23-Apr	26-Apr	24-Aug	10-Sep	16-Sep	Plotkowski
Romeo	30-Apr	1-May	1-May	31-Aug	18-Sep	24-Sep	Plotkowski
Sparta	30-Apr	1-May	1-May	1-Sep	16-Sep	23-Sep	Brown
Hart	5-May	7-May	7-May	6-Sep	23-Sep	29-Sep	Lavely
NWMHRS	11-May	12-May	13-May	11-Sep	26-Sep	2-Oct	Rothwell

Table below auto calculates predicted harvest date comparisons.

2024 predicted peak harvest dates compared to normal and last year
	Days -/+ normal			Days -/+ last year
Station	McIntosh	Jons	Reds	McIntosh	Jons	Reds
SWMREC	-15	-12	-11	-9	-8	-10
Deerfield	-17	-11	-22	-13	-16	-16
Romeo	-13	-7	-9	-11	-14	-16
Sparta	-15	-10	-14	-6	-11	-10
Hart	-10	-10	-11	-7	-14	-13
NWMHRS	-11	-10	-15	-3	-8	-7

List of regional reports:

Northwest Michigan’s report was reduced and contained in the FruitNet email this week.

Southeast Michigan does not currently have an independent apple maturity report.

Check out Michigan State University Enviroweather’s growing degree days (GDD) Michigan map. Find your closest weather station, create an account on the website and track GDDs daily.

Maturity tables and summaries

Apple maturity sampling parameters:

Color % = the visual percentage of red color from 0 to 100; range is of all fruits tested.
Firmness in pounds pressure = measured with a Güss Fruit Texture Analyzer; range is of all fruits tested.
Starch: 1 = all starch, 8 = No starch; range is of all fruits tested. Using Cornell Starch Iodine Index Chart.
Updated MSU starch chart.
Brix = % sugar measured with Atago PAL-1 Pocket Refractometer

Suggested firmness and starch index for long-term and shorter-term controlled atmosphere (CA) storage by variety.
Variety	Firmness (lbs)*			Starch Index*
Variety	Short CA	Mid-CA	Long CA	Mature	Over-mature
McIntosh	14	15	16	5	7
Gala	16	17	18	3	6
Honeycrisp	15	16	17	3.5	7
Empire	14	15	16	3.5	6
Early Fuji	16	17	18	3	7
Jonagold	15	16	17	3.5	5.5
Jonathan	14	15	16	3.5	5.5
Golden Delicious	15	16	17	3	6.5
Red Delicious	16	17	18	2.5	6
Idared	14	15	16	3.5	6
Fuji	16	17	18	3	7
Rome	15	16	18	3	5.5
Braeburn	16	17	18	2.5	7

Southwest Michigan

Commercial apple harvesting is wrapping up in southwest Michigan with less than one-third of the Fuji, Braeburn and Evercrisp orchards remaining to be picked. Relatively warm conditions in 2024 pushed ripening earlier than normal.

Internal watercore continues to increase in late harvested Evercrisp. Watercore does not increase in fruit once harvested and may disappear in storage if not severe. Apples severely affected may develop browning and unpleasant fermentation flavors. The solution is to avoid late harvesting of watercore-prone varieties in years such as 2024 when the disorder is prevalent.

Region	Cultivar	Collection Date	Red Color (%)	Firmness (lbs)	Starch (1-8)	Soluble Solids (°Brix)
Southwest	Rome	30-Sep	87.6	19.2	4.3	10.8
Southwest	Braeburn	30-Sep	47.5	20.3	4	11.1
Southwest	Fuji (main season)	30-Sep	63	18.4	4.6	13.9
Southwest	Evercrisp	30-Sep	73	22.3	3.2	15.2

Southeast Michigan

Growers in warmer parts of the region (Lenawee and Monroe counties) are finishing up second picks of ‘Ambrosia’ and expect to hold off on ‘Fuji’ and ‘Evercrisp’ until next week. See our predicted harvest dates for southeast Michigan.

Northwest Michigan

Most growers are working to harvest most varieties at this time. With the early season and many varieties maturing at a similar time, growers have been pressed to get the fruit off the trees. They have been working hard to move through harvest in an efficient manner. Many growers used Retain/Harvista to help manage harvest this season in our region. Many growers estimate that they will be done with harvest in a week with the regular season varieties.

Apple maturity in northwest Michigan for apples collected on 10/2/24
Variety	Color %	Firmness lbs.	Starch	Brix %
Evercrisp	65	22.2	2.9	13.5

West central Michigan

In the west central region, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Ambrosia, Mutsu and Idared have been harvested at some locations. Some growers will be harvesting Mutsu and Northern Spy this week. Aztec Fuji, EverCrisp and Pink Lady will be ready for harvest over the next one to two weeks.

Region	Variety	Collection Date	Fruit Weight (g)	Red Color (%)	Background color (5-1)	Firmness (lbs)	Starch (1-8)	Soluble Solids (°Brix)
West Central	IdaRed	30-Sep	211	80	2.5	15.1	4.4	12.6
West Central	EverCrisp	30-Sep	237	58	3.16	21.4	2.9	15.1
West Central	Aztec Fuji	30-Sep	210	76.2	2.9	16.5	3.7	13
West Central	Mutsu	30-Sep	392	14	3.3	16.9	3.3	12.4
West Central	Pink Lady	30-Sep	191	43	3.1	20.6	1.9	13

Grand Rapids region

Main season Fuji, Evercrisp and Red Delicious apples are currently mature. Braeburn and Pink Lady apples are up next. Some of these varieties coming into maturity are even exceeding the early predicted harvest dates by Michigan State University (MSU) this year. Frequent proactive sampling will be needed to stay on top of harvest.

Region	Variety	Collection Date	Weight (g)	Diameter (mm)	Red Color (%)	Background (5-1 rating)	Ethylene (%)	Firmness (lb)	Starch (1-8 rating)	Soluble solids (°Brix)
Grand Rapids	Ambrosia	9/30/2024	201	25	67	1.3	90	17.8	4.7	14.5
Grand Rapids	Fuji	9/30/2024	201	76	75	1.8	60	18.9	3.7	13.4
Grand Rapids	Red Delicious	9/30/2024	192	71	91	1	80	18.5	4	12.9
Grand Rapids	Evercrisp	9/30/2024	211	76	68	2.5	75%	24	2.5	14.6

Upcoming events

The Great Lakes Expo

The Great Lakes Expo, held annually in early December at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is the largest show of its kind in the country. It attracts a diverse audience of apple growers from the Great Lakes region. This year's Apple Sections take place on Tuesday, Dec. 10 and Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Sweet and Hard Cider: Tuesday Morning

Kevin Halfmann	MDARD Cider Mill Inspection Report
Paula Englin	MCA Block Grant Report
Shanthanu Krishna Kumar	Managing Polyphenols with Crop Load; Polyphenol nutrition and cider sales
Chris Swaggerty	Hill Bros. How I Did It

Apple 1: Tuesday Afternoon

Todd Einhorn	Rapid, early-season growth of Honeycrisp apples predisposes fruit to bitter pit development
Kari Peter	Optimizing management to limit postharvest apple rots while in storage
Randy Beaudry	Environmental Factors Affecting Apple Quality and Storability
Jim Schaefer, Eric Roossinck, and Jamie Kober	Post Harvest Industry Panel

Apple 2: Wednesday afternoon

Julianna Wilson	What's Bugging Apples? All the Tiny Things!
Rebecca Schmidt-Jeffris	From the bottom to the top: Orchard floor management to conserve natural enemies in orchards
Meghan Milbrath	Protecting pollinators while controlling pests in apples
Grzegorz Krawczyk	Developing challenges with management of codling moth

Cider Contest: Wednesday afternoon

The cider contest will judge the best ciders produced by Michigan cider makers (only Michigan cider producers are eligible). Here are some important details for the contest.

To enter, cider producers must submit two 1-gallon cider jugs at the Exhibitor Registration desk in the Grand Gallery concourse in DeVos Place on Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or on Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to noon. No entries will be accepted after noon on Wednesday.

Cider samples must be thawed by 1 p.m. on Wednesday (this is the responsibility of each cider producer, not the contest coordinator).

Cider contest judging will be on Wednesday afternoon. Judging will be held in one of the main-level Grand Gallery meeting rooms and will be open for viewing starting at 1:30 p.m.

The top five winners will be notified prior to the EXPO Social so they can be in attendance. Winners will be announced at the EXPO Social on Wednesday evening. First place receives a plaque and a traveling trophy. Second and third places receive a plaque.

Don't miss this valuable opportunity to connect with industry experts, gain valuable knowledge and explore the latest advancements in the apple industry.

We look forward to seeing you there!

To get a better sense of the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable, and Farm Market Expo, check out this video.

The 2024 Michigan apple crop forecast, as given at the USApple Outlook meeting
Predicted apple harvest dates for 2024 from MSU Extension.
More information on harvest management tools and timings from MSU Extension.
Post harvest treatments to extend apple life.
Guidelines from MSU Extension to check for apple maturity in your own orchard, including specific pressure and starch recommendations by variety.
Predicting apple maturity and starch chart from Cornell University.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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