The Ultimate Apple Harvest Guide

s THE ULTIMATE APPLE • HARVEST GUIDE• AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR APPLE VARIETIES KEY: O Eating & Salads X Baking Cider s Pies O Sauce EMPIRE A versatile medium sized apple with a firm texture. IDARED An apple with a tangy flavor, and a firm texture. RED DELICIOUS JONATHON An attractive deep red apple with a tough, bitter skin. A crisp spicy apple. MCINTOSH A spicy and aromatic apple. GOLDEN DELICIOUS A large yellow apple with a thin skin. ROME BEAUTY A thick-skinned and GALA crisp apple. An apple with a crisp dense flesh. GRANNY SMITH A crisp green apple. FUJI A firm and juicy apple. SWEET TO TART APPLES ACROSS THE USA TOP 5 STATES WITH THE MOST APPLE FARMS 2,500 varieties of apples are grown 7,500 varieties of apples exist worldwide vs. 41% 12% Washington 165,215 New York 49,966 11% Michigan 44,189 36 states grow apples 6% Pennsylvania 23,552 6% California 22,184 24% All other States 398,700 farms in the USA grow apples ə THE e SCIENCE BEHIND HARVESTING Multiple varieties of apple can be grown on one tree through a process known as grafting. SCION GOLDEN DELICIOUS -- MCINTOSH STOCK -- YEARS TO YIELD FRUIT AFTER PLANTING CITRUS TREE Less than FIG TREE 3 to 4 APPLE TREE 5 to 8 years PEAR TREE 6 to 12 years CHERRY TREE 6 to 14 years 1 year years Farmers caught by an unexpected frost use 36-foot-tall, 130 horsepower wind machines to pull in warm air with the giant 12-foot blades, and push it towards the ground, keeping the trees warm. Global warming is causing trees to produce softer and sweeter apples. Over the last 30 years, Japan's Fuji apple trees have been yielding riper, sweeter fruit due to warmer temperatures and earlier harvests. 16 APPLE A BUSHEL OF APPLES 42 pounds A PECK OF APPLES 10.5 pounds PICKING TIPS HANDLE APPLES GENTLY TO PREVENT BRUISING. Do not throw or toss apples into your basket. AND STORE YOUR APPLES IN A COOL DARK PLACE, room temperature apples deteriorate 10 times faster. Remove overripe apples from the bunch, the ethylene gas released by a rotting apple can turn the other fruit. ONE BAD APPLE REALLY DOES SPOIL THE LOT. Sharit Berries SOURCES: United States Department of Agriculture • University of Missouri Agriculture Extension • University of Illinois Extension · U.S. Apple Association • The TimesUnion University of Minnesota Extension • The Oold Farmer's Almanac Scientifc American • Indian Ladder Farms