(/) 



<v 



c 



E 



il 



s: 



V) 



U. 



15 



14 



13 



12 



II 



10 



9 



8 



7 



6 



5 



Sunrise 



Starch 6.1 



T 



T 



8/29 



9/12 



9/26 

 Date 



10/10 



I 

 10/24 



T 



Figure 3. Flesh firmness of Sunrise fruit immediately following (at harvest), 2, 

 4, 6, and 8 weeks of storage at 32°F (represented by the first point of each line) and 

 after 1 week at room temperature (represented by the second point of each Ime). 



were considered marginal. Paulared fruit that were 

 kept at room temperature for 1 week after harvest had 

 a firmness of 12.4 pounds and were considered quite 

 good. However, any Paulared fruit that was placed in 

 storage and then allowed to stay at room temperature 

 for 1 week had flesh firmness of less than 9 pounds, 

 and were judged to be marginal. 



Discussion 



The apples evaluated in this study should be 

 considered summer or late-summer apples, and as such 

 we should not expect them to have a long storage life. 

 In general, that conclusion was confirmed in this 

 study. 



Experience has shown that the rate of ripening of 

 Ginger Gold is slowed on the tree. Because it is mild 

 tasting and has relatively low tannin content, it is 

 picked commercially at a low starch rating, frequently 

 below 2.0. Consequently the harvest period for Ginger 

 Gold may exceed 3 weeks. However, once Ginger 



Gold is harvested and 

 placed in cold storage, 

 it has a storage poten- 

 tial of only 4 or 5 

 weeks. Ginger Gold is 

 unlike some varieties in 

 that when it softens to 

 1 2 pounds or lower, the 

 flesh becomes grainy 

 and undesirable. Gin- 

 ger Gold should be sold 

 before high-quality and 

 better-storing Golden 

 Delicious types are har- 

 vested. 



Sansa is very simi- 

 lar in appearance and 

 taste to Gala. To the 

 untrained, it could be 

 easily mistaken for 

 Gala. Sansa at harvest 

 and for a month after 

 maintained good to ex- 

 cellent firmness and 

 exceptional flavor. As 

 Sansa softens it devel- 

 ops pear-like character- 

 istics, making it accept- 

 able at lower firmness than other varieties. However, 

 given the similarity between Sansa and Gala, and the 

 generally longer storage potential of Gala, we suggest 

 that only sufficient Sansa should be planted to satisfy 

 grower market demands up to and into Gala season. 



At its prime, Sunrise is one of the crispest and best 

 apples available. However, like many summer apples 

 it maintains condition on the trees for only a short time. 

 This study suggests that Sunrise has an extremely short 

 storage life, and if any fruit is left at room temperature 

 for a week, it would not be eatable. We believe that 

 Sunrise is not a variety that should be grown 

 commercially in New England because of uneven 

 ripening on the tree and its limited storage potential. 

 The postharvest storage life of Paulared was 

 similar to what we have learned to expect of this 

 variety. It is a good Mcintosh type to precede 

 Mcintosh on the market. However, after 6 weeks in 

 storage, firmness dropped substantially, making these 

 fruit a liability in the prime of Mcintosh season. We 

 believe that Paulared should be out of the storage and 



Fruit Notes, Volume 64 (Number 4), Fall, 1999 



