PICKING MATURITY OF APPLES 17 



ance. There is a rather marked relation between soil and cultural 

 conditions and the time of maturity in this variety. 



Winter Banana is extremely susceptible to water core when grown 

 in the Pacific Northwest or in the southern apple sections of the 

 Eastern States, if it becomes overmature on the tree. When a con- 

 siderable quantity of water core begins to develop, the fruit should, 

 generally be picked. 



With well-grown fruit the yellowing of the unblushed portion 

 until it corresponds to No. 3 is usually the most dependable test for 

 time of picking. 



YELLOW NEWTOWN 



The Yellow Newtown -{Newtown Pippin, Albemarle Pippin) is a 

 variety similar to the Winesap in requiring a rather long growing 

 season — 165 to 170 days — to reach best development. Though it is 

 not necessary to leave this variety on the tree late in order to obtain 

 color, the fruit tends to scald late in the storage season if not packed 

 in oiled paper. Consequently, late picking is desirable when oiled 

 paper is not used in packing. The Yellow Newtown adheres to the 

 tree well, usually not showing an appreciable dropping of the fruit 

 even if left on the tree until somewhat past the best picking season. 



Color changes in the Yellow Newtown are not sufficiently marked 

 to serve satisfactorily as an index to time of picking. The variety 

 is usually green, corresponding to Nos. 1 to 2, Plate 1, but may be 

 considerably more yellow than this, particularly if grown in sod or 

 under conditions of low nitrogen supply. 



Some variation is usually allowable in the time of picking the 

 Yellow Newtown, but the fruit should not be allowed to become 

 too ripe on the tree if best storage quality is desired. This variety, 

 picked when testing about 20 pounds or slightly under, will usually 

 combine high dessert quality with excellent storage condition. If 

 the fruit is not to be packed in oiled paper it may become somewhat 

 softer than this while on the tree, testing down to 18 pounds without 

 injury to the storage quality, since resistance to scald will be im- 

 proved. For fruit to be placed in cold storage, however, and packed 

 in oiled paper, picking at a pressure test of about 19 to 20 pounds 

 will give best results. 



Certain strains of Yellow Newtown have been noted in which the 

 fruit reaches picking condition some three to four weeks earlier 

 than the normal variety does. Some of these strains are in the com- 

 mercial orchards, and if all the fruit is picked at the same time the 

 early-ripening strain will have very poor storage quality as com- 

 pared with the late-ripening fruit. These strains usualty show a 

 pressure test of 2 to 4 pounds less than the variety as a whole at any 

 date during the late growing season. If trees of these early-ripening 

 strains are present in the orchards they should be marked and the 

 fruit harvested separately, since this fruit will have inferior keeping 

 quality and will detract greatly ^from the general pack if the fruit 

 is mixed. 



For holding in air-cooled or common storage,, late picking of the 

 Yellow Newtown has the same advantages pointed out for the other 

 long-keeping varieties. The fruit softens less rapidly on the tree 



