{"id":12666,"date":"2025-10-03T15:12:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T19:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/?p=12666"},"modified":"2026-04-15T12:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:35:40","slug":"tree-fruit-maturity-report-october-3-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/highmoor\/2025\/10\/03\/tree-fruit-maturity-report-october-3-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Tree Fruit Maturity Report — October 3, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maturity Report<\/h3>\n

Apples<\/h4>\n

McIntosh <\/strong>apples at Highmoor Farm have been harvested. Both strains of McIntosh are too ripe for long-term storage. None of our blocks were treated with ReTain or Harvista.<\/p>\n

Honeycrisp <\/strong>blocks have been harvested. Fruit remaining on the tree indicate that ripening is at an advanced stage and are too ripe for cold storage because of high risk for chilling injury, greasiness and loss of flavor. At this time, they could develop injury despite conditioning. Chilling injury can develop within two weeks of going into cold storage.<\/p>\n

Cortland <\/strong>is suitable for storage.<\/p>\n

Macoun <\/strong>apples at Highmoor Farm have been harvested.<\/p>\n

Golden Delicious <\/strong>is ready to harvest for long-term storage.<\/p>\n

Fuji<\/strong> is close to optimum maturity for long-term storage.<\/p>\n

Evercrisp<\/strong> is not yet ready for long-term storage. It also has mild to moderate watercore in most fruit and could develop internal browning or off-flavors if put directly into controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. It\u2019s also susceptible to carbon dioxide injury in CA storage. In cold storage, some of the watercore will dissipate with little impact on marketability. Cold storage rather than CA is recommended for this variety.<\/p>\n

Ambrosia<\/strong> is a relatively new variety that ripens in late September. Our Ambrosia apples are ok to pick for storage, but they taste ripe. We have no experience in storing this variety, but it has been studied in Canada. Recommendation for long-term storage is to harvest when starch index is 2.7 to 3.5 and DA below 0.70. Ambrosia is susceptible to chilling injury in cold storage.<\/p>\n

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

Variety<\/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>\nStarch Index 10\/3\/25<\/th>\nDA 10\/3\/25<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Honeycrisp<\/td>\n6.1<\/td>\n0.75<\/td>\n6.4<\/td>\n0.58<\/td>\n7.6<\/td>\n0.55<\/td>\n8.0<\/td>\n0.28<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McIntosh (standard)<\/td>\n4.7<\/td>\n1.86<\/td>\n5.4<\/td>\n1.78<\/td>\n5.6<\/td>\n1.90<\/td>\n6.8<\/td>\n1.63<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McIntosh (spur type)<\/td>\n4.6<\/td>\n1.67<\/td>\n5.0<\/td>\n1.70<\/td>\nfruit are dropping fast<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n6.5<\/td>\n1.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cortland<\/td>\n1.3<\/td>\n1.69<\/td>\n1.7<\/td>\n1.53<\/td>\n2.2<\/td>\n1.35<\/td>\n3.7<\/td>\n1.17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fuji<\/td>\n1.6<\/td>\n1.92<\/td>\n2.3<\/td>\n1.79<\/td>\n2.2<\/td>\n1.75<\/td>\n2.5<\/td>\n1.57<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Golden Delicious<\/td>\n1.4<\/td>\n1.52<\/td>\n1.5<\/td>\n1.65<\/td>\n3.5<\/td>\n1.57<\/td>\n4.5<\/td>\n1.18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evercrisp<\/td>\n1.0<\/td>\n1.42<\/td>\n1.2<\/td>\n1.36<\/td>\n1.4<\/td>\n1.23<\/td>\n1.9<\/td>\n1.10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ambrosia<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n3.4<\/td>\n0.78<\/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. Standards for other varieties are currently being developed.<\/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

An Announcement from the Maine Farm Service Agency (FSA)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We are sharing the following information provided by Tommy Higgins, State Executive Director, Maine Farm Service Agency<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As of Thursday, September 18, six counties in Maine are now classified as D3 (Extreme Drought): Cumberland, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Franklin, Somerset, and Oxford.<\/strong> In addition, our coastal counties stretching from Washington to Lincoln have remained in D2 (Severe Drought) for five consecutive weeks.<\/p>\n

Any period at D3 triggers multiple federal programs, including:<\/p>\n