West central Michigan apple maturity report – October 8, 2025
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EmailA storm brought some relief from the heat on Oct. 6-7 as apple harvest continues across the region.
In the west central Michigan region, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Rome and Mutsu are being harvested this week. Some blocks of Idared and Aztec Fuji have also been harvested. Pink Lady and EverCrisp were sampled this week, and samples from some sites were mature and ready for harvest.
As mentioned last week, maturity dates are tracking more closely to last year with varieties being harvested about two weeks ahead of normal. High heat in August and September seems to have significantly advanced growing degree days and maturity later in the season. Be sure to monitor your blocks to harvest at the optimal maturity stage for each variety and target storage conditions. Communicate this information to packers and processors to facilitate proper storage and optimize fruit quality.
For later maturing varieties, a product like aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG; ReTain) can be used, and applications at 28, 14 or seven days before harvest are recommended. For a 1-MCP product (Harvista), applications are recommended closer to harvest at seven or three days.
Weather over the past week was hot for this time of year, but a cool down finally came with a storm system on Oct. 6. Average temperatures over the past few days had low temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s and highs in the 60s according to the Hart Enviroweather station. Daytime and nighttime temperatures will be similar over the next few days with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. This will be great coloring weather for later varieties such as Aztec Fuji, EverCrisp and Pink Lady.
The storm brought 0.49 inches of rain in Hart, 0.55 inches in Ludington and 0.40 inches in Fremont according to local Enviroweather stations. Rain is also forecasted for later this 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 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. Red color development is at 75%. Background color is light green, and pressure is an average of 14.6 pounds. Starch is clearing into the cortex and changed quite a bit from last week with a rating of 4.2, and sugar levels are excellent at 13.3 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) |
*Values from Sept. 22 were only from one location.
Aztec Fuji
Fruit were sampled from three locations in Oceana County. Red color development is improving and is at 77%. Background color is yellow green, and pressure is an average of 15 pounds. Starch is clearing into the cortex with a rating of 4.8, and sugar levels are excellent at 14.8 Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3 inches. There was some watercore observed for this variety this week.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Sept 29 |
186 |
65 (80-50) |
2.8 (3-2) |
16.0 (18.3-14.8) |
3.8 (6-2) |
11.4 |
|
Oct 6 |
197 (232-173) |
77 (90-40) |
2.5 (4-1) |
15.0 (18.1-7.8) |
4.8 (8-3) |
14.8 (15.6-13.6) |
*Values from Sept. 22 were only from one location.
Pink Lady
Fruit were sampled from three locations in Oceana County. A nice blush is developing on the fruit and covering 55% of the fruit surface. Background color is yellow green, and pressure is an average of 19.7 pounds. Starch is clearing into the cortex with a rating of 3.6 but this was quite variable by site. Sugar levels are excellent at 13.4 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) |
EverCrisp
Fruit were sampled from five locations in Oceana County. Red color development is similar to last week at 68%. Background color is yellow green, and pressure is an average of 18.8 pounds. Starch is clearing into the cortex with a rating of 3.72, and sugar levels are excellent at 15 Brix. Average fruit diameter is 3.2 inches.
|
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) |
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 |
