Northwest Michigan apple maturity report – September 23, 2025
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EmailGala and Honeycrisp are in the mature range from our testing this week. Most growers are working in Honeycrisp blocks.
Apple maturity testing will occur weekly for the northwest Michigan region beginning now through the end of harvest. Reports will be sent out every week following the Michigan State University Extension fruit team apple maturity calls on Wednesdays.
Honeycrisp and Gala have reached mature this week. Growers are working on Honeycrisp orchards and many will move onto Gala next week. As in many years, it seems the fruit ripens all at the same time, so growers are hustling to harvest. Brix has improved greatly compared to last week, and the brix levels in both varieties are testing from 11.7-12.1 this week. The ranges are much higher compared to the variability in brix we have seen in weeks prior. In the few orchards where we have McIntosh apples, the fruit has been harvested.
Weather
Weather conditions still feel summery even though fall officially began on Monday, Sept. 22, at 2:19 p.m. EDT with the autumnal equinox. The deciduous trees are starting to show some color, but most of the trees still have mostly green leaves.
Last week and into the weekend, daytime highs were in the mid-70s with overnight temperatures dropping into the high 50s or low 60s. This weather pattern is predicted to continue throughout the week and into the weekend where we will see 70s in the day and mid- to high 50s overnight. The weather is also predicted to be sunny through next Monday, Sept. 29, with a slight chance of rain on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
Over the past weekend, we did have some isolated and unpredicted showers. The Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center Enviroweather station recorded 0.67 inches of rain on Saturday, Sept. 20. The Northport Enviroweather station recorded no rain on Saturday. The Old Mission Peninsula station received 0.88 inches of rain on Saturday. The Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center station received only 0.01 inches on Sunday, Sept. 21, while the soccer fields south of Traverse City had a short but heavy downpour—enough to soak the players and fans at the Autumn Classic. Benzonia had a trace of rain on Sept. 20 but received a quarter inch of rain on Sunday, Sept. 21.
In keeping with recent weather trends, rainfall has been variable this weekend and throughout the growing season. We also had a mix of rain and sunshine this weekend.
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. Samples included in the reports have been untreated with ReTain or Harvista, unless otherwise noted.
For more information about apple maturity testing, review these resources compiled by the Michigan State University (MSU) 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 MSU.
- Predicting apple maturity and starch chart from Cornell University.
- Starch chart for Honeycrisp Apples developed by Washington State University.
Maturity information for northwest Michigan
Honeycrisp
Honeycrisp maturity has moved along this past week, and most growers are in Honeycrisp harvest in earnest. Some of our samples from the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center are even testing in the overmature range. The starch removal measurements are in the 7s and 8s in one particular block at the station.
Color improved slightly this week compared to last week, but firmness dropped from an average of 19.6 last week down to an average of 17.5 this week. We had some individual fruits that had firmness measurements down to 14. Average starch readings were 4.4 last week, and they jumped to 6.2 this week. Brix was exactly the same this week as last week, but the range was much tighter this week than last.
|
Collection Date |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sept 22 |
76 (40-100) |
17.5 (14-20.5) |
6.2 (3-8) |
11.7 (10.5-13.6) |
Gala
Gala apples have good color, and the average color for the samples this week jumped an average of 6.8% this week compared to last week. Gala size looks particularly good this year on all the blocks where we collected fruit. We sampled Gala from seven orchards this week. Gala are still testing firm with an average of 20.7 pounds this week compared to 21.6 pounds last week. Brix on Gala went up 1.2 degrees to an average of 12.1. There were also notable increases in starch removal measurements this week; last week, the average was 2.9, and this week, the average starch reading was 5. Most growers will move into Gala as soon as they wrap up Honeycrisp or they may jump around between orchards as both varieties are testing mature this week.
|
Collection Date |
Red Color (%) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch (1-8) |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sept 22 |
91.3 (60-100) |
20.7 (17.5-23) |
5 (2-8) |
10.9 (9.7-11.5) |
McIntosh
All McIntosh were harvested where we collect our samples.
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.
- 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 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 |