PRACTICES

Pre-harvest planning tips to improve apple harvest quality and efficiency

Apple harvest is never an exact science, but what if you could take more control over the process? Now is the time to start your harvest plans, including products and practices that can help improve harvest quality and labor management. Get started with these tips.

Pre-harvest nutrition

As the first step in pre-harvest planning, tree nutrition should be a top priority. Maintaining optimum calcium levels helps maintain fruit firmness and reduce bitter pit, while proper potassium levels support fruit size and color development. Keeping micronutrients within correct ranges helps round out overall tree nutrition.

At this time, watch for issues like watercore, which may occur when the ratio of nitrogen to calcium is too high, resulting in water retention in apples. Heat and sun exposure are also key stressors that can significantly impact fruit quality. Using sunburn protection practices such as shade cloth, evaporative cooling and sprayable protectants can help reduce risk. It is also important to manage insects and diseases that may be present.

Harvest-time management

As harvest approaches, ethylene is the primary factor in determining fruit maturity and picking timelines. As apples near maturity, respiration and ethylene production increase, stimulating enzymes that break down cell walls in the apple stem. This weakens attachment and signals readiness for harvest.

At this stage, it is important to determine whether plant growth regulators (PGRs) are needed to reduce pre-harvest fruit drop, advance or delay maturity and better stage harvest timing.

Since apples within a block may mature at different times, PGRs can help manage variability. Without proper management, storability and shelf life may be reduced.

Lengthening the picking window

Harvest timing can be difficult to manage, with quality loss occurring when fruit is picked too early or too late. Having more control over the picking window allows growers to better manage labor, timelines and fruit quality.

Extending the harvest window with a PGR can result in increased fruit size without sacrificing quality, longer hang time without losing firmness, improved consistency across trees and reduced risk of disorders such as watercore, greasiness and stem bowl cracking.

PGRs can be used throughout the season and typically require no special equipment.

Create a plan

Ask yourself these questions to determine your harvest window needs:

• Harvest management:
  • What labor is available? Does your current harvest timeline align with labor availability?
  • What age are your trees? Different ages can impact maturity and harvest timing.
• Variable fruit maturity and quality:
  • Have you increased acreage?
  • Have you reduced varieties, leading to overlapping harvest windows?
• Small fruit size:
  • Was weather warmer or wetter than average this year?

Consider these factors along with your orchard history to determine the harvest management plan that works best for you. If you need help implementing your plan, your local retailer or Valent sales representative can help you take the next step.

Learn more about how ReTain® Plant Growth Regulator can help you manage harvest timing and improve fruit quality.

Always read and follow label instructions.

* First published by the U.S. Apple Association as part of their Thought Leadership series. Republished with permission.