West central Michigan apple maturity report – October 15, 2025
Print
EmailHarvest of late-season apple varieties is beginning at some locations this week. Apple harvest is wrapping up for some commercial growers across the region.
This will be the last Michigan State University Extension fruit team apple maturity report for this season.
In the west central Michigan region, Idared and Aztec Fuji are being harvested this week. Pink lady and EverCrisp are also being harvested at some locations this week. Fruit sampled this week for Idared, EverCrisp and Pink Lady are mature and ready for harvest. With high heat in August and September, growing degree days have advanced, and fruit matured more quickly this season. Late season varieties are now mature and can be harvested any time. The apple season is wrapping up earlier than normal, and end of season tasks can be done over the next few weeks as trees prepare for dormancy.
Weather over the past week has been excellent fall weather, and red color notably changed for Pink Lady and EverCrisp. Average temperatures over the past few days had low temperatures in the 40s and 50s and highs in the 60s according to the Hart Enviroweather station. Daytime and nighttime temperatures will be similar over the next few days with a slight warm up to almost 70F later in the week. This will be great coloring weather for later varieties such as Aztec Fuji, EverCrisp and Pink Lady. Slight chances of rain are in the forecast this week.
How to read maturity tables
This will be the last apple maturity report for this season and includes 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 two to five locations across Oceana County.
For more information about apple maturity testing, review these resources compiled by the Michigan State University 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 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
Idared
Fruit were sampled from three locations in Oceana County this week. Red color development is at 86%. Background color is yellow green, and pressure is an average of 15.1 lbs. Starch is clearing into the cortex and changed some since last week with a rating of 4.5, and sugar levels are excellent at 13.4 Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3.2 inches. There was some watercore observed for this variety.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 22 |
208 |
69 (80-60) |
2.9 (4-2) |
15.1 (16.3-13.9) |
2.6 (4-2) |
12.6 |
|
Sept 29 |
198 (236-161) |
73 (95-35) |
3.3 (4-2) |
16.3 (19.9-13.3) |
2.1 (4-1) |
12.1 (12.9-11.7) |
|
Oct 6 |
211 (257-172) |
75 (95-50) |
2.7 (4-2) |
14.6 (17.1-11.3) |
4.2 (6-2) |
13.3 (13.5-13.1) |
|
Oct 13 |
210 (274-161) |
86 (95-60) |
1.9 (3-1) |
15.1 (17.8-12.0) |
4.5 (7-2) |
13.4 (14.4-11.7) |
*Values from Sept. 22 were only from one location.
Pink Lady
Fruit were sampled from three locations in Oceana County this week. Pink blush was markedly increased this week from last week and covered 70% of the fruit surface. Background color is yellow-green, and pressure is an average of 19.4 lbs. Starch is clearing into the cortex with a rating of 4.0, but this was quite variable by site. Sugar levels are excellent at 14.5 Brix. Average fruit diameter is similar to last week at 2.7 inches.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 29 |
145 (154-136) |
65 (95-40) |
2.9 (4-2) |
18.5 (22.8-17.0) |
3.3 (5-1) |
12.5 (13.3-11.6) |
|
Oct 6 |
157 (168-144) |
55 (90-20) |
2.2 (3-1) |
19.7 (26.6-16.4) |
3.6 (6-1) |
13.4 (14.3-12.6) |
|
Oct 13 |
156 (173-142) |
70 (95-50) |
1.9 (3-1) |
19.4 (24.9-15.9) |
4.0 (6-1) |
14.5 (15.0-13.6) |
EverCrisp
Fruit were sampled from three locations in Oceana County this week. Red color development is significantly better than last week at 86%. Background color is yellow-green, and pressure is an average of 19.4 lbs. Weekly variation in pressure is due to sampling. Pressure is still very firm. Starch is clearing into the cortex with a rating of 3.2, and sugar levels are excellent at 16.0 Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3.2 inches. Maturity of EverCrisp was variable across sites, and some sites have already been harvested.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 29 |
194 (228-172) |
71 (90-50) |
3.5 (5-3) |
20.0 (23.3-13.0) |
2.2 (4-1) |
13.1 (13.9-12.1) |
|
Oct 6 |
229 (253-198) |
68 (90-50) |
2.5 (4-1) |
18.8 (23.9-12.5) |
3.72 (7-2) |
15.0 (16.5-13.4) |
|
Oct 13 |
235 (258-195) |
86 (95-60) |
2.5 (4-1) |
19.4 (23.3-16.5) |
3.2 (5-2) |
16.0 (16.7-15.3) |
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 |