RIPENING, STORAGE, AND HANDLING OF APPLES 21 



Grimes Golden, seem to develop the best quality and appearance 

 if the end of the normal growing period comes while the weather is 

 still fairly warm. 



Jonathan and Delicious are satisfactory varieties both in dis- 

 tricts having long and moderately short growing seasons, but in 

 the latter districts usually are of small size. On the other hand, 

 varieties like Baldwin, Northern Spy, Rhode Island Greening, 

 Mcintosh, Tompkins King, and Hubbardston, which reach prime 

 condition during a relatively short growing season, are peculiarly 

 adapted to the northern and eastern districts, and when grown under 

 long-season conditions become rather inferior later summer or fall 

 varieties. From the data presented in Table 3 as well as from gen- 

 eral observations it appears that the length of growing season is prob- 

 ably the most fundamental factor in determining the adaptability 

 of a variety to any particular condition. An extra-long growing 

 season in districts normally having a short season apparently will 

 result in very early ripening of the varieties usually grown there. 

 Thus an early bloom in the northeastern apple sections will usually 

 result in the early ripening of varieties such as Baldwin, Rhode 

 Island Greening, Mcintosh, and Northern Spy. On the other hand, 

 varieties such as Winesap or Yellow Newtown will probably not need 

 to be picked earlier than normal in such seasons in the northeastern 

 districts, and will usually attain higher quality than during a normal 

 season in these sections. 



Extra-early blossoming in districts having a long growing season 

 usually results in the earlier maturity of all varieties. This hap- 

 pened in the Pacific Northwest in 1924 and 1925. A late bloom in 

 such a district will retard the picking date somewhat and usually 

 will result in lower quality in the fruit of varieties best adapted to 

 a long season. 



TESTS FOR TIME OF PICKING 



The outstanding reason for undertaking this series of studies 

 was to determine, if possible, the most dependable tests for the time 

 of removing the fruit from the tree. From the results obtained it 

 is possible to suggest the relative dependability of certain factors 

 for the determination of the condition of the fruit while on the 

 tree. 



The persistence with which the fruit adheres to the tree or the 

 ease with which the stem separates from the spur is a fundamentally 

 important consideration in determining when apples are ready to 

 pick. In some cases fruit begins to drop while in a somewhat im- 

 mature condition; in others it will adhere firmly until past prime 

 picking condition. In general, however, the ease of separation of 

 the fruit from the spur will be closely correlated with the actual 

 condition of maturity of the fruit. 



The ground color of the fruit, or the degree of yellow in the 

 unblushed portion, is apparently a very valuable guide to picking 

 maturity. It varies greatly, however, with diiferent varieties and 

 to a certain extent under different climatic conditions. The results 

 here reported indicate that if the fruit is approaching maturity 

 while the weather is still warm and the prevailing temperatures 

 are high, the ground color will not become yellow to the same degree 



