In cooperation with the Henderson County Master Pomology Program, we are excited to continue last year’s effort to monitor apple fruit maturity in commercial orchards in Henderson County, NC .

The goal of this program is to provide timely updates regarding fruit maturity of several apple cultivars in the region. Data will be presented weekly to commercial apple growers via web-based updates to partly aid in harvest management decisions. Please note that the data presented is limited to the specific orchard block that we used for sampling. Do not assume that fruit at your location are at the same stage of maturity. To be clear, there is no substitute for regular monitoring of fruit quality parameters at your own operation.

We realize that the scope of this information is limited, and that it would be ideal to expand this effort to include several major areas of commercial apple production in NC, SC, and GA in future. When appropriate, we look forward to feedback on this effort from members of the southeastern apple industry. Below is a tentative list of apple cultivars that will be evaluated as part of this program (Table 1).

‘Ginger Gold’ was evaluated last year with final harvesting fruit quality parameters of 14.9 for fruit firmness, 10.6 for soluble solids, 2.5 for starch pattern and a final fruit weight of 219 g (Table 2). All fruit quality parameters this season except average starch pattern index of 1.1 have met or exceeded last years harvesting criterion for this cultivar (Table 3, Figure 1).

‘Simmons’ (Buckeye® Gala) fruit quality parameters indicate these fruit remain immature this week (Table 4, Figure 2).

Sweet Maia® (MAIA-SM) were evaluated as part of this program for the first time. Starch pattern index rating averaged 3.9 and soluble solids of 12.7% are on target for harvest for long term storage (Table 5, Figure 3). Fruit firmness of 19.4 is close to the recommended firmness for long controlled atmospheric storage. However, the marketable blush of 36% is still low.

If of interest, please see our previous posts for more detailed information on how to manage fruit maturity. Specifically:

• Using PGRs to Manage Apple Preharvest Drop, Fruit Maturity, and Harvest Timing
• Apple Harvest Management Considerations: Special Focus on Gala

Optimal harvest timing is dictated by multiple factors, especially the intended market. While one size does not fit all, please see this resource from Michigan State University for some general guidelines.

We are very grateful for the cooperation of the Pat Lancaster and the team at Grandad's Apples for hosting this project. Thank you for your generous access to your farm and fruit! This work would not be possible without my excellent colleague, co-author, and technician, Tatiana Zuber. We sincerely appreciate the great work of the Henderson County Master Pomology Program. This dedicated team of volunteers inspired the initiation of this pilot program and is assisting with data collection. I will share more information about this group in the near future.