Southwest Michigan apple maturity report – October 7, 2026
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EmailSunny weather provides a favorable harvest window as apple harvest winds down across southwest Michigan.
Apple maturity testing will occur weekly for the southwest 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 Wednesday mornings.
Weather
Mostly sunny, dry conditions are expected across southwest Michigan through Saturday, October 10, providing a favorable window for harvest. Highs will remain in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees Fahrenheit through Friday before warming into the upper 70s Saturday. Overnight lows will generally range from the mid-40s to upper 50s, with the coolest night expected Thursday.
A chance of showers returns Sunday, followed by mostly sunny conditions Monday and another chance of rain Monday night into Tuesday.
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 MSU Extension tree fruit team.
- Predicted apple harvest dates for 2026 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 Michigan State University
- Predicting apple maturity and starch chart from Cornell University.
- Starch chart for Honeycrisp Apples developed by Washington State University.
Maturity information for the Southwest Region
EverCrisp
EverCrisp fruit were sampled from one location in Van Buren County on Tuesday. Red color is greatly improved since last week at 78%, and background color is green-yellow at 2.8. Fruit firmness is unchanged at 22.2 lbs of pressure. Starch is an average of 4.5, indicating that the fruit is ripe and edging towards overripe in some fruit. Some fruit tested at 7.0 on the starch scale, which is over-ripe. Sugars are an average of 16.5 °Brix. Evercrisp is mature.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Oct 6 |
272.0 |
78.0 (65.0–90.0) |
2.8 (2.0–4.0) |
22.2 (19.5–24.1) |
4.5 (3.0–7.0) |
16.5 |
Fuji
Fuji fruit were sampled from one location in Van Buren County on Tuesday. Red color is improved to 67%, and background color is yellow-green at 2.6. Fruit firmness has decreased to 15.7 lbs of pressure. Starch is an average of 6.1. Sugars are an average of 15.2 °Brix. Fuji is mature and tending towards over-ripe. If not harvested yet, Fuji should be picked quickly.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Oct 6 |
206.0 |
67.0 (40.0–85.0) |
2.6 (2.0–3.0) |
15.7 (13.7–19.1) |
6.1 (4.0–8.0) |
15.2 |
Cameo
Cameo fruit were sampled from one location in Van Buren County on Tuesday. Red color is at 50%, and background color is yellow-green at 2.9. Fruit firmness is at 17.1 lbs of pressure. Starch is an average of 4.1. Sugars are an average of 13.5 °Brix. Cameo is mature and can be harvested.
|
Collection Date |
Fruit Weight (g) |
Red Color (%) |
Background color (5-1) |
Firmness (lbs) |
Starch |
Soluble Solids (°Brix) |
|
Oct 6 |
271.1 |
50 (25.0–80.0) |
2.9 (1.0–4.0) |
17.1(15.6–20.3) |
4.1 (3.0–6.0) |
13.5 |
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.
- Background color: 5 = Green, 1 = Yellow; range is of all fruits tested.
- 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 Atago PAL-1 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 |