Relative Apple Fruit Maturity
In 2020, we gathered information on cultivar-specific apple fruit maturation from multiple Montana orchards using the starch iodine (SI) test. Cultivars evaluated spanned early harvest (‘Yellow Transparent’) to later season harvest (‘Cortland’). We estimated harvest maturity based on a cultivar’s average starch index relative to the cultivars ‘Goodland’ and ‘Wealthy’, which were harvested mid-season (relative to the other cutlivars) and well-represented among the orchards evaluated. Note that harvest timing in practice will vary according to grower’s marketing plans (immediate sales vs. storage) and other factors; for example, ‘McIntosh’ is prone to dropping fruit near maturity.
|
Cultivar |
Site |
Relative fruit maturity* |
|---|---|---|
|
Ashmead’s Kernel |
WARC - Corvallis |
late |
|
Atlas |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
early |
|
Beacon |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
early |
|
Binet Rouge |
WARC - Corvallis |
late |
|
Breaky |
Bozeman Hort Farm |
mid-season |
|
Chestnut Crab |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
mid-season |
|
Chestnut Crab |
WARC - Corvallis |
late |
|
Chestnut Crab |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
late |
|
Chestnut Crab |
Whitehall - Redmond Orchard |
late |
|
Chisel Jersey |
WARC - Corvallis |
mid-season |
|
Collett |
Bozeman Hort Farm |
early |
|
Cortland |
WARC - Corvallis |
late |
|
Dabinett |
WARC - Corvallis |
late |
|
Dakota Gold |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
late |
|
Dalgo Crab |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
late |
|
Duchess |
Pryor - Chief Plenty Coups |
early |
|
Frostbite Crab |
Wasay Wakpa - Lodge Pole |
late |
|
Frostbite Crab |
Whitehall - Redmond Orchard |
late |
|
Geneva Early |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
late |
|
Ginger Gold |
Wasay Wakpa - Lodge Pole |
late |
|
Goodland |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
mid-season |
|
Goodland |
Wasay Wakpa - Lodge Pole |
mid-season |
|
Goodland |
Bozeman Hort Farm |
mid-season |
|
Goodland |
Whitehall - Redmond Orchard |
mid-season |
|
Harel Red |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
late |
|
Hewe's Virginia Crab |
WARC - Corvallis |
early |
|
Honeycrisp |
Whitehall - Redmond Orchard |
late |
|
Honeycrisp |
Wasay Wakpa - Lodge Pole |
late |
|
Idared |
Bozeman Hort Farm |
mid-season |
|
Jelly Crab |
Townsend |
early |
|
Mantet |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
mid-season |
|
McIntosh |
WARC - Corvallis |
mid-season |
|
McIntosh |
Townsend |
mid-season |
|
Muscadette de Dieppe |
WARC - Corvallis |
late |
|
New York 702 |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
mid-season |
|
Norland |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
early |
|
Prairie Magic |
Whitehall - Redmond Orchard |
early |
|
State Fair |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
early |
|
State Fair |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
mid-season |
|
Sweet 16 |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
late |
|
Wealthy |
Pryor - Chief Plenty Coups |
mid-season |
|
Wealthy |
WARC - Corvallis |
mid-season |
|
Wealthy |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
mid-season |
|
Wealthy |
Wasay Wakpa - Lodge Pole |
mid-season |
|
Wealthy |
Bozeman Sypes Canyon |
mid-season |
|
Wealthy |
Townsend |
mid-season |
|
Whitney Crab |
Bozeman Hort Farm |
mid-season |
|
Whitney Crab |
Townsend |
mid-season |
|
Wolf River |
Big Sandy - Bob Quinn |
late |
|
Yellow Transparent |
Townsend |
early |
|
Zestar |
Whitehall - Redmond Orchard |
late |
* Fruit maturity category, based on starch index with 'Goodland' and 'Wealthy' as anchor cultivars
See 2019 and 2020 starch iodine test results for apples from orchards around Montana.
