Southwest Michigan apple maturity report – October 14, 2026
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EmailApple harvest is wrapping up in southwest Michigan. This will be the final maturity report of the season.
Apple maturity testing occurs weekly for the southwest region through the end of harvest. Reports will be sent out every week following the Michigan State University Extension fruit team apple maturity calls on Wednesday mornings. This will be the final report of the 2026 season.
Weather
Wednesday, Oct. 14, will be partly sunny with highs in the mid-60s. Rain returns Thursday afternoon and continues into Friday, with a chance of thunderstorms Thursday night. Friday will be cooler and windy, with highs in the upper 50s and gusts potentially reaching 45 mph near the lakeshore. These conditions may interrupt harvest operations.
Drier weather returns Saturday and Sunday, providing a favorable window for harvest once orchards dry out. Highs will climb from the upper 50s Saturday to the mid-60s Sunday, with mild conditions continuing into early next week. Overnight lows near Benton Harbor and St. Joseph are forecast to fall into the upper 30s to around 40 Friday and Saturday nights.
Growers in colder inland locations should monitor local forecasts for frost potential, particularly Saturday night as skies clear.
How to read maturity tables
Each week, an apple maturity report will be provided and will include average values for several apple samples for varieties nearing maturity. Maximum and minimum values are included in tables below for the highest and lowest individual fruits evaluated for each, to give a full spectrum of maturity. Firmness is the mean of measurements from two sides of each fruit. Samples included in the reports have been untreated with ReTain or Harvista, unless otherwise noted.
For more information about apple maturity testing, review these resources compiled by the MSU Extension tree fruit team.
- Predicted apple harvest dates for 2026 from MSU.
- More information on harvest management tools and timings can be found in this article.
- Guidelines from MSU to check for apple maturity in your own orchard, including specific pressure and starch recommendations by variety.
- New starch charts for evaluating apple maturity in Michigan from Michigan State University
- Predicting apple maturity and starch chart from Cornell University.
- Starch chart for Honeycrisp Apples developed by Washington State University.
Maturity information for the Southwest Region
Fuji
Fuji fruit were sampled from one location in Van Buren County on Tuesday. Red color is around 49%, (second pick fruit) and background color is yellow-green at 2.5. Fruit firmness is stable at 16.7 lbs of pressure. Starch is an average of 6.3. Sugars are an average of 16.0 °Brix. Fuji is overmature.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Oct 6 |
206.0 |
67.0 (40.0–85.0) |
2.6 (2.0–3.0) |
15.7 (13.7–19.1) |
6.1 (4.0–8.0) |
15.2 |
|
Oct 13 |
220.0 |
49 (30.0–75.0) |
2.5 (1.0–3.0) |
16.7 (15.2–19.7) |
6.3 (5.0–8.0) |
16.0 |
Braeburn
Braeburn fruit were sampled from one location in Van Buren County on Tuesday. Red color is at 58%, and background color is yellow-green at 2.3. Fruit firmness is at 22.7 lbs of pressure. Starch is an average of 4.9. Sugars are an average of 16.6 °Brix. Braeburn is mature and can be harvested.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Oct 13 |
206.2 |
58.0 (35.0–90.0) |
2.3 (2.0–3.0) |
22.7 (19.7–25.2) |
4.9 (3.0–7.0) |
16.6 |
Apple maturity sampling parameters
- Color % = the visual percentage of red color from 0 to 100; range is of all fruits tested. Indicates surface area covered in red and intensity of red color.
- Background color: 5 = Green, 1 = Yellow; range is of all fruits tested.
- Firmness in pounds pressure = measured with a Güss Fruit Texture Analyzer; range is of all fruits tested.
- Starch For Honeycrisp: will typically be rated using the standard Michigan State University starch scale (1-8). However, a separate starch chart for Honeycrisp Apples developed by Washington State University (scale 1-6) also exists.
- Brix = % sugar measured with Atago PAL-1 Pocket Refractometer
Looking for more? View Michigan State University Extension’s Apple page for regional reports throughout the state and additional resources.
|
Suggested firmness and starch index levels for long-term and shorter-term controlled atmosphere (CA) storage by variety. |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Variety |
Firmness (pounds)* |
Starch Index* |
|||
|
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 |
6 |
|
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 |
|
Brix Guide |
Low |
Fair |
Good |
Excellent |
|
All varieties |
Less than 11 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
|
Honeycrisp |
Less than 12 |
12 |
12 |
Greater than 14 |
