PARS Apple maturity update
Maturity levels are still running 6-8 days later than normal due to cool, wet weather. Most apple varieties will require multiple spot pickings due to uneven ripening this year; however, this week’s five-days straight of sunny days and cool nights will go a long way in fully maturing most varieties. We are currently harvesting Royal Cortland, Gala, Macoun, Greenings, and MacIntosh. Also we are still spot picking regular Cortland, Honeycrisp, and Blondee. We expect to harvest Keepsake and Empire next week along with the cider apple variety block.
Apple maturity at PARS for apples collected on Oct. 7, 2019
| Variety | Firmness lbs (range) | Starch (range) | Brix | Color % |
| Blondee | 18 | 3.2 | 12.8 | 70% |
| Cortland | 12.4 | 4 | 13.2 | 90% |
| Honeycrisp | 13 | 8 | 13.3 | 85% |
| Liberty | 18.1 | 2.6 | 12.1 | 75% |
| Royal Cortland | 13.2 | 2 | 13.6 | 80% |
| Macoun | 14.8 | 2.8 | 13 | 55% |
| Empire | 18.3 | 3.6 | 12.3 | 95% |
Brix readings are a guide for target sugar levels in fruit. The higher the better, but from year to year there’s quite a bit of variation. Light crops will tend to have higher brix levels, and heavy crops will be on the low end. Honeycrisp are expected to have higher brix. Brix can be measured with a portable refractometer which is available online.
Brix Readings on Honeycrisp & other varieties
| Brix Guide | Low | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| All varieties | < than 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Honeycrisp | < than 12 | 12 | 13 | > than 14 |