100 percent red. When apples of these varieties are in the best pick- 
ing condition, the unblushed portions should be practically of the full 
color corresponding to Nos. 3 to 4 of the color chart. 
In districts with long growing seasons, a pressure test of about 18 
pounds will indicate when the fruit is in best storage condition. The 
fruit usually holds to the tree very well, but if it begins dropping 
before it reaches the color condition and the pressure test suggested 
it should be harvested or harvest sprays should be applied. 
GOLDEN DELIcIOUS 
Golden Delicious is not subject to scald in storage, but it has a 
tendency to wilt, particularly when picked in an immature condition 
or when extensively russeted. When picked while still fairly green 
it does not develop in cold storage the attractive golden yellow that 
adds greatly to the appearance of the fruit and it also lacks its fine 
characteristic flavor. Generally Golden Delicious apples can be 
picked over a fairly long period with satisfactory results. However, 
it is a rather soft variety and there is a possibility of its becoming 
too soft for good storage quality if picked late. 
The quality of the fruit of Golden Delicious seems to be influenced 
by the size of the crop to a greater extent than with some of the other 
varieties. With a lght crop the ground color of the fruit turns yellow 
sooner and satisfactory dessert quality may be obtained in fruit picked 
7 to 10 days earlier than fruit of a heavy crop. 
Golden Delicious varies with respect to the length of periods from 
bloom to maturity, possibly due in part to crop size. With a light 
crop it seems likely that satisfactory maturity may be obtained when 
picking starts as early as 145 days from bloom; in general, 150 days 
should elapse before picking starts. Optimum maturity probably 
occurs between 150 and 160 days. At earliest maturity the ground 
color should have changed to about No. 2.5 to No. 3 of the color chart 
and should be between No. 3 and No. 4 at optimum maturity. For 
best storage the firmness of the fruit should not drop below a pressure 
of 14 pounds. 
GrIMEs GOLDEN 
If picked in an immature condition, Grimes Golden tends to scald 
badly in storage even when packed with oiled paper. If picked while 
still having a marked green color and moved promptly to cold storage, 
this variety ripens in storage without attaining the golden-yellow 
color so desirable on the retail market. It is a fairly firm variety and 
could be left on the tree longer than ordinarily is done without becom- 
ing too soft for good storage quality. However, it tends to drop badly 
and for this reason generally should be picked before appreciable 
yellowing occurs (8, 17). 
Rather extensive records (4, 8, 74)" for this variety indicate that 
Grimes Golden requires at least 140 days from bloom to reach satis- 
factory maturity. When picked at this time the fruit still will be 
green (corresponding to No. 1 to No. 1.5 on the color chart), but under 
some circumstances considerable dropping may occur. Optimum 
maturity is reached between 145 and 150 days from bloom. Even 
7 See footnote 2, p. 2. 
15 
