West central Michigan apple maturity report – October 14, 2026
Print
EmailLate-season apple varieties will be harvested soon.
This will be the last apple maturity report for the 2026 growing season. Late-season varieties are mature, and apple harvest will come to a close for some growers by next week.
In the west central region, some growers are Fuji, Pink lady, Idared, and EverCrisp this week. Cleanup harvest of other varieties like Mutsu, Red Delicious, Idared, and Jonagold are also happening at some farms. EverCrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady are mature at all sites tested. Red color, size, and brix are excellent again this week.
Weather
Weather has been generally good for harvest this week, although spotty storms brought rain to some areas on October 13 and 14 overnight. Storms brought cloud cover and cooler temperatures across the region, and rain is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, October 15 and 16.
Cooler temperatures will remain the rest of the week with highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s and upper 30s. Temperatures will warm slightly over the weekend and into next week with highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 40s and 50s.
There is some risk for frost later this week, so check your orchard locations to determine if fruit are at risk for exposure to freezing temperatures and harvest as needed.
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. Samples included in the reports have been untreated with ReTain or Harvista, unless otherwise noted. Samples were collected from 1-4 locations in Oceana County.
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 West Central region
Note that apple maturity is occurring earlier than normal this season with variability between orchard blocks and sites. Be sure to test maturity block by block for each variety. Young trees are maturing more quickly than older trees.
Aztec Fuji
Fruit were sampled from three locations on Oct 12 in Oceana County. Average fruit weight was 212g. Average red color development is similar to last week at 81%, and background color is yellow green at 1.9. Pressure has decreased slightly and is 15.8 lbs, and starch rating is 5.2. Sugars are excellent at 14.8 °Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3.03 in, and fruit were mature at all sites tested and are ready for harvest.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 28 |
197 (211-184) |
74 (95-30) |
2.9 (4-2) |
17.7 (19.8-16.4) |
2.8 (5-2) |
12.4 (12.8-12.0) |
|
Oct 5 |
184 (188-178) |
86 (99-70) |
2.5 (3-1) |
16.6 (18.9-14.1) |
2.9 (4-2) |
12.7 (13.0-12.3) |
|
Oct 12 |
212 (220-198) |
81 (95-60) |
1.9 (3-1) |
15.8 (19.-12.) |
5.2 (8-3) |
14.8 (16.2-14) |
EverCrisp
Fruit were sampled from four locations on October 12 in Oceana County. Average fruit weight was slightly larger than last week at 221g. Average red color development is 82%, and background color is yellow green at 2.5. Pressure is still good at 20.1 lbs, and starch rating is 3.7. Sugars are excellent at 14.7 °Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3.1 in, and fruit are mature at all sites tested. Some growers are starting to harvest EverCrisp this week. Watercore was also observed at all sites tested this week.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 21 |
177 (188-166) |
57 (80-30) |
3.9 (5-2) |
22.0 (25.1-20.3) |
1.7 (3-1) |
13.1 (13.6-12.6) |
|
Sept 28 |
205 (247-179) |
67 (90-30) |
3.1 (4.5-2) |
23.0 (26.1-20.1) |
2.4 (5-1) |
13.9 (15.2-13.4) |
|
Oct 5 |
201 (249-174) |
72 (90-50) |
3.0 (4-2) |
22.2 (28.0-19.5) |
3.0 (5-2) |
14.2 (15.2-13.7) |
|
Oct 12 |
221 (271-191) |
82 (95-60) |
2.5 (3-1) |
20.1 (23.1-18.1) |
3.7 (6-3) |
14.7 (15.5-14.0) |
Pink lady
Fruit were sampled from one location on October 12 in Oceana County. Average fruit weight is 201 g. Average red color development is similar to last week at 60%, and background color is yellow green at 1.9. Pressure is similar to last week and is 17.8 lbs, and starch rating is 3.8. Sugars are excellent at 14.4 °Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3.02 in. Fruit are mature and ready for harvested.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 28 |
171 |
48 (70-30) |
2.7 (3-2.5) |
20.1 (21.4-17.4) |
2.5 (4-2) |
13.4 |
|
Oct 5 |
187 (188-186) |
67 (90-30) |
2.3 (3-1) |
17.9 (20.1-16.4) |
3.4 (6-1) |
13.4 (14.0-12.8) |
|
Oct 12 |
201 |
60 (75-45) |
1.9 (2-1) |
17.8 (18.3-17.4) |
3.8 (4-3) |
14.4 |
*Fruit were sampled from one location on Sept 28 and October 12.
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 |