{"id":12657,"date":"2025-09-29T09:44:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/?p=12657"},"modified":"2025-09-29T09:44:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:44:03","slug":"tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report — September 26, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maturity Report<\/h3>\n

Apples<\/h4>\n

McIntosh <\/strong>apples at Highmoor Farm are dropping off the tree in all blocks indicating that the window has passed for harvesting storage apples. Our blocks were not treated with ReTain. Starch index and Delta Absorbance (DA) numbers have not changed from last week, but I measured the fruit still on the tree which are behind in ripening compared to the fruit that have dropped. Limb shaking causes fruit to drop which means excessive fruit drop is likely to occur in the next week.<\/p>\n

Honeycrisp <\/strong>blocks have been spot picked once. Fruit remaining on the tree are at a stage of ripening that is still ok for storage, but are very susceptible to chilling injury. Continue to condition apples first for 5 to 7 days. Temperatures in cold storage should remain above 36 \u00baF for protection against chilling injury. If Honeycrisp apples have lost all green peel color and have turned yellow, they have passed the stage where they will remain in good condition in storage. Honeycrisp apples will develop a greasy peel and will lose flavor in storage if harvested too ripe.<\/p>\n

Cortland <\/strong>apples have reached a stage of ripening where they are suitable for storing.<\/p>\n

Macoun <\/strong>has reached a stage where it is suitable for storage. This variety is known for not holding up well in long-term storage and will develop internal browning if stored past mid November. 1-MCP can extend the storage duration by preventing this senescence.<\/p>\n

Golden Delicious<\/strong> and Empire<\/strong> showed some ripening in the last week and are ready to harvest for long-term storage.<\/p>\n

Fuji <\/strong>and Evercrisp<\/strong> changed very little in the last week, and not yet ready to harvest for storage.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Starch Index and Delta Absorbance at University of Maine’s Highmoor Farm.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/caption>\n

Variety<\/th>\nStarch Index 9\/12\/25<\/th>\nDA 9\/12\/25<\/th>\nStarch Index 9\/16\/25<\/th>\nDA 9\/16\/25<\/th>\nStarch Index 9\/19\/25<\/th>\nDA 9\/19\/25<\/th>\nStarch Index 9\/26\/25<\/th>\nDA 9\/26\/25<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Honeycrisp<\/td>\n5.6<\/td>\n0.77<\/td>\n6.1<\/td>\n0.75<\/td>\n6.4<\/td>\n0.58<\/td>\n7.6<\/td>\n0.55<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McIntosh (standard)<\/td>\n3.7<\/td>\n1.72<\/td>\n4.7<\/td>\n1.86<\/td>\n5.4<\/td>\n1.78<\/td>\n5.6<\/td>\n1.90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McIntosh (spur type)<\/td>\n4.3<\/td>\n1.80<\/td>\n4.6<\/td>\n1.67<\/td>\n5.0<\/td>\n1.70<\/td>\nfruit are dropping fast<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cortland<\/td>\n1.4<\/td>\n1.69<\/td>\n1.3<\/td>\n1.69<\/td>\n1.7<\/td>\n1.53<\/td>\n2.2<\/td>\n1.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Macoun<\/td>\n2.4<\/td>\n1.93<\/td>\n2.7<\/td>\n1.85<\/td>\n2.3<\/td>\n1.88<\/td>\n3.3<\/td>\n1.76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Empire<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n2.2<\/td>\n1.71<\/td>\n2.1<\/td>\n1.67<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fuji<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n1.6<\/td>\n1.92<\/td>\n2.3<\/td>\n1.79<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Golden Delicious<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n1.4<\/td>\n1.52<\/td>\n1.5<\/td>\n1.65<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evercrisp<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n1.0<\/td>\n1.42<\/td>\n1.2<\/td>\n1.36<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sweet 16<\/td>\n2.4<\/td>\n1.69<\/td>\n2.7<\/td>\n1.66<\/td>\n3.2<\/td>\n1.46<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

* DA is a measure of chlorophyll breakdown in the peel which parallels ripening. Numbers decrease as fruits ripen. Gala and Honeycrisp readings between 0.8 and 0.3 indicate sufficient maturity for storage. McIntosh DA has not closely followed harvest maturity in years past and remains much higher than in other varieties. Cortland and Macoun DA, in the past, has decreased below 1.5 during the harvest window.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The following is a rough guide to what the starch index numbers mean for apple ripening:<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 2<\/strong>: indicates lack of starch breakdown and generally unripe.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>: partially ripe, but prone to disorders in long-term storage.<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>: typically ready to pick for long-term storage.<\/p>\n

5 \u2013 6<\/strong>: indicates good flavor and ready for general harvest or harvest for short-term storage.<\/p>\n

7 \u2013 8<\/strong>: indicates fully ripe, too ripe for long-term storage.<\/p>\n

Starch Index Scale<\/h3>\n

Variety-specific starch indices for determining when to harvest can be found at this Michigan State Univ. Extension website: MSU Starch Scale – Booklet rev 02A<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Renae Moran<\/p>\n

University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Tree Fruits<\/a><\/p>\n

PO Box 179<\/p>\n

Monmouth, ME 04259<\/p>\n

(207) 933-2100<\/p>\n

rmoran@maine.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or vendor does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product, nor does it imply approval or disapproval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable. <\/em><\/p>\n

The University of Maine System is an equal opportunity institution committed to nondiscrimination.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maturity Report Apples McIntosh apples at Highmoor Farm are dropping off the tree in all blocks indicating that the window has passed for harvesting storage apples. Our blocks were not treated with ReTain. Starch index and Delta Absorbance (DA) numbers have not changed from last week, but I measured the fruit still on the tree […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tree-fruit-newsletter"],"yoast_head":"\nTree Fruit Maturity Report - September 26, 2025 - Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tree Fruit Maturity Report - September 26, 2025 - Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maturity Report Apples McIntosh apples at Highmoor Farm are dropping off the tree in all blocks indicating that the window has passed for harvesting storage apples. Our blocks were not treated with ReTain. Starch index and Delta Absorbance (DA) numbers have not changed from last week, but I measured the fruit still on the tree […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-29T13:44:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"swright\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"swright\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"swright\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/820653c187b608883de680eb1114cf9c\"},\"headline\":\"Tree Fruit Maturity Report — September 26, 2025\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-29T13:44:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\"},\"wordCount\":565,\"articleSection\":[\"Tree Fruit Newsletter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\",\"name\":\"Tree Fruit Maturity Report - September 26, 2025 - Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-29T13:44:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/820653c187b608883de680eb1114cf9c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tree Fruit Maturity Report — September 26, 2025\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/\",\"name\":\"Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm\",\"description\":\"Information you can use. Research you can trust.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/820653c187b608883de680eb1114cf9c\",\"name\":\"swright\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a8e782b2f662bce47c27662e4f3450070411da425d0295f06495571d4d842e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a8e782b2f662bce47c27662e4f3450070411da425d0295f06495571d4d842e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"swright\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/author\/swright\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report - September 26, 2025 - Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report - September 26, 2025 - Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","og_description":"Maturity Report Apples McIntosh apples at Highmoor Farm are dropping off the tree in all blocks indicating that the window has passed for harvesting storage apples. Our blocks were not treated with ReTain. Starch index and Delta Absorbance (DA) numbers have not changed from last week, but I measured the fruit still on the tree […]","og_url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/","og_site_name":"Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm","article_published_time":"2025-09-29T13:44:03+00:00","author":"swright","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"swright","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/"},"author":{"name":"swright","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/820653c187b608883de680eb1114cf9c"},"headline":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report — September 26, 2025","datePublished":"2025-09-29T13:44:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/"},"wordCount":565,"articleSection":["Tree Fruit Newsletter"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/","name":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report - September 26, 2025 - Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-29T13:44:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/820653c187b608883de680eb1114cf9c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/09\/29\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-september-26-2025\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report — September 26, 2025"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#website","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/","name":"Cooperative Extension at Highmoor Farm","description":"Information you can use. Research you can trust.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/820653c187b608883de680eb1114cf9c","name":"swright","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a8e782b2f662bce47c27662e4f3450070411da425d0295f06495571d4d842e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a8e782b2f662bce47c27662e4f3450070411da425d0295f06495571d4d842e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"swright"},"url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/author\/swright\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":182,"label":"Tree Fruit Newsletter"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"swright","author_link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/author\/swright\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":182,"name":"Tree Fruit Newsletter","slug":"tree-fruit-newsletter","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":182,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":182,"category_count":26,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Tree Fruit Newsletter","category_nicename":"tree-fruit-newsletter","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12657"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12660,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12657\/revisions\/12660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}