Grand Rapids area apple maturity report – September 4, 2025
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EmailCooler temperatures continue this week, and a storm brought much needed rain to the region. Honeycrisp harvest will begin next week for some growers.
Apple maturity testing will occur weekly for the Grand Rapids, Michigan, region beginning now 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.
In the Grand Rapids region, early apple varieties Wildfire Gala and Premier Honeycrisp are being harvested this week. Some growers are preparing for initial harvests of Gala or Honeycrisp over the next week.
Weather over the past few days has been cooler with low temperatures dipping down into the 40s and 50s and highs in the 60s and 70s across the region. Cool temperatures will continue into next week with highs in the 60s and low temperatures in the 40s. Some rain is expected today, Sept. 4, and low chances of rain are forecasted through the rest of the week and the weekend. A temperature warmup is expected at the end of next week.
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. All samples included in the reports have been untreated with ReTain or Harvista, unless otherwise noted. Samples were collected from three locations in Kent County.
For more information about apple maturity testing, review these resources compiled by the MSU Extension tree fruit team.
- Predicted apple harvest dates for 2024 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 Grand Rapids region
Honeycrisp
Fruit were sampled from three locations on Sept. 2 in Sparta, Michigan. Red color development has improved with cool nighttime temperatures and warm days. Background color is light green. Starch rating is 4.8 on average. For Honeycrisp, the starch rating to indicate maturity is 3.5. Pressure is an average of 16.6 pounds. Sugars are improving, and Brix is at 10.3 on average.
A note about Honeycrisp: Wait for acceptable varietal flavor and color to develop before picking. Picking fruit and getting it into the market early seems like an edge but will hurt repeat sales of Honeycrisp.
Bitter pit development on fruit has been observed in some locations. Fruit that are high risk or are more susceptible to bitter pit development may be in blocks with younger trees, high-risk rootstocks, high-vigor trees, or low crop loads. Large fruit are also more susceptible to bitter pit development than small fruit. High bitter pit-risk fruit should be cooled quickly to the recommended 38 degrees Fahrenheit storage temperature, as conditioning will exacerbate bitter pit. High risk fruit should be marketed as soon as possible. Fruit intended for longer storage should be pre-conditioned, with recommended conditions of 50 F (room temperature) for five to seven days.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aug 26 |
172 (203-135) |
40 (85-0) |
4.4 (5-3) |
16.2 (18.4-13.3) |
1.8 (6-1) |
10.3 (10.8-9.5) |
|
Sept 2 |
176 (201-152) |
78 (98-40) |
3.5 (4-2) |
16.6 (17.9-14.8) |
4.8 (7-3) |
11.9 (12.8-11) |
McIntosh
Fruit were harvested from three locations in Sparta. Red color is 84% on average, and background color is still green. Average firmness is at 16.2 pounds. Recommended pressure for long-term controlled atmosphere (CA) is 16 pounds. Fruit is still immature at a starch rating of 3.5. McIntosh are mature at a starch test of 5. Sugar levels are fair at Brix of 11.3.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aug 26 |
142 |
64 (85-50) |
5 (5-5) |
16.7 (17.8-15.9) |
2.1 (3-1) |
10 |
|
Sept 2 |
137 (142-131) |
84 (98-55) |
4.7 (5-4) |
16.2 (18.2-13.3) |
3.5 (5-2) |
11.3 (11.7-10.7) |
*Average values from Aug. 26 were reported from one sampling location.
Gala
Gala fruit were sampled from four locations in Sparta. Red color is 93%, and background color is yellow. Fruit firmness is at 21.5 pounds of pressure. Starch is at 2.2, and sugars are fair at 11.3 °Brix.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aug 26 |
141 (149-132) |
80 (99-40) |
2.75 (4-1) |
20.4 (22.6-16.9) |
1.8 (4-1) |
10.2 (10.7-9.6) |
|
Sept 2 |
125 (131-120) |
93 (100-75) |
1.275 (3-1) |
21.5 (24.1-18.9) |
2.2 (5-1) |
11.3 (12.0-10.8) |
Jonagold
Jonagold fruit were sampled from one location in Sparta. Red color is 30%, and background color is dark green. Fruit firmness is at 22 pounds of pressure. Starch is at 2.2, and sugars are at 11.1 Brix.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sept 2 |
199 |
30 (40-10) |
4.8 (5-4) |
22.0 (24.7-20.4) |
2.2 (3-1) |
11.1 |
*Average values from Sept. 2 are reported from one sampling location.
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 |
