Northwest area apple maturity report – September 3, 2025
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EmailPremier Honeycrisp harvest has begun in the region. Color is improving with the cooler nights.
Apple maturity testing will occur weekly for the northwest 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 Wednesdays.
Premier Honeycrisp harvest has started in the region, and growers with Minneiska are testing for maturity. We will expand to test Gala and regular Honeycrisp next week.
Weather
Northwest Michigan had some nice summertime weather over the Labor Day weekend. Daytime temperatures were in the 70s with cooler overnights in the high 40s and low 50s. These cooler nights have been good for coloring up apple fruits. Temperatures are predicted to change with a storm in the works today, Wednesday, Sept. 3. This front will bring in much cooler weather, and this cooler trail will persist throughout the week where daytime highs will be in the 50s and 60s and overnights will be in the high 40s. The weather will turn warm again in a 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. 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 Michigan State University (MSU) Extension tree fruit team.
- Predicted apple harvest dates for 2025 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 MSU.
- Predicting apple maturity and starch chart from Cornell University.
- Starch chart for Honeycrisp Apples developed by Washington State University.
Maturity information for northwest Michigan
Premier Honeycrisp
Fruit were sampled from one location on Sept. 2 in Leelanau County. Individual samples represent fruit closest to maturity or “first pick” fruit in each block. Red color has improved with warm daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures. Background color is light green. Starch rating is 1.9. Pressure is 20.3 pounds on average and Brix are good at 11.5. Another grower from Grand Traverse County tested his Premiers, and some of the fruit had starch readings of 6; he is beginning Premier harvest today, Sept. 3.
A note about Premier 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 this strain and standard 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 |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sept 2 |
57.9 (40-90) |
20.3 (15-23 |
1.9 (1-4) |
11.5 (10.5-12.7) |
Minneiska
Minneiska fruit were sampled at four locations on Sept. 2 in Leelanau, Antrim and Benzie counties. Red color development has been improving with the cool nights. Background color is light yellow. Starch is clearing into the cortex, and sugar levels are at 12.3 Brix. The brix on most of the fruit was quite high, but we did see fruit from one orchard with low brix readings.
|
Collection Date |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sept 2 |
69.2 (15-95) |
19.1 (16.5-23) |
3.2 (1.5-5) |
12.3 (10.7-13.7) |
Gingergold
Fruit were sampled from one location on Sept. 2 in Leelanau County. Background color is green, and fruit are still immature. Pressure is 21.4 pounds, and starch rating averaged at 1.4. Sugars are at 11.7 Brix.
|
Collection Date |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sept 2 |
11.5 (0-20) |
21.4(18.5-23) |
1.4 (1-2) |
11.7 (10.7-12.8) |
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.
- 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 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 |
