Newtown apples adhere well to the tree until relatively late, but under 
Virginia conditions they may start dropping prematurely in some 
seasons. There is a tendency also toward red spotting of the skin 
with a consequent lowering of grade when the fruit is allowed to 
remain on the tree until very late. 
Ground color changes in the Yellow Newtown are not sufficiently 
marked to serve as an index of picking maturity, as the fruit when 
picked usually is still green, corresponding to No. 1 of the color 
chart. With a light crop the ground color starts turning yellow 
earlier than with a heavy crop. Fruit from hght-crop trees appar- 
ently matures earlier and should be picked before the greener fruit 
on heavy-crop trees. As previously noted, fruits of other varieties 
react in a similar way to crop size. 
Probably the most satisfactory index of the time to pick Yellow 
Newtown is the elapsed time from full bloom. Picking should not - 
start until at least 150 days from bloom (8). By this time the apples 
will ripen with just passable dessert quality and will not be likely 
to develop storage scald when packed with oiled paper. Much better 
dessert quality and larger size will be obtained by delaying picking 
until 160 to 170 days from bloom, as reported for the Pacific North- 
west (J6).12 However, under Virginia conditions the dropping or 
fruit spotting, and under Oregon conditions fall rains and perennial 
canker infections, may make such late picking unfeasible. 
Like the other long-keeping varieties, Yellow Newtown intended for 
common storage should be picked late. The fruit softens less rapidly 
on the tree than while being held at prevailing outdoor temperatures. 
Consequently, delaying the picking of this variety as long as possible 
within weather limitations will improve its keeping quality if the 
fruit is handled in common storage. 
YELLOW TRANSPARENT 
The Yellow Transparent apple is a very acid fruit that is generally 
picked in a rather immature condition and used primarily for sauce. 
Generally it is picked ahead of Williams; such picking would make 
its harvest period about 65 to 70 days from bloom. 
York IMPERIAL 
York Imperial is similar to Arkansas in that its possible storage 
life is determined almost entirely by the development of storage 
scald; hence it should be picked at the latest possible date. The fruit 
softens slowly in both cold and air-cooled storage. In cold storage 
particularly, the fruit usually shows storage scald while still firm, 
and even in air-cooled storage the possible holding period usually is 
emu by scald development rather than by the ripeness of the 
rult. 
Picking of this variety should not begin earlier than approximately 
155 days from bloom. Fruit picked after this time and packed with 
oiled paper should not scald excessively during the normal storage 
season. 
#3 See footnote 2, p. 2. 
21 
