2026 Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Maturity Report - August 24

Introduction

Welcome to Penn State Extension's weekly apple maturity reports. Maturity metrics for key varieties will be tracked across the state throughout the 2026 season.

In this stressful year, with crops decimated by multiple springtime freeze events and hot, dry early summer weather, informed harvest timing recommendations are critical for fruit quality, particularly for apples in mid- to long-term storage. Balancing harvest decisions against sugar accumulation, color development, starch clearing, and firmness drop is difficult to perform in a normal year. These reports serve to provide insight and help inform management decisions.

Out of respect for our collaborators' need to squeeze out as much profit as possible from their available fruit, sampling of varieties may occur a week or more later than in previous years in order to reduce Penn State Extension's impact on their harvest. Please bear this in mind as recommendations this year may require quick action.

Adams County

Discussion

Last week brought a welcome cool-down after the recent hot stretch, with daytime highs easing into the mid-to-upper 70s and low 80s and overnight lows dropping into the 50s and low 60s. That wider swing between warm days and cool nights is exactly the kind of weather that drives red color development, since cooler nights slow respiration and help fruit hold onto sugars while boosting anthocyanin production, and it's a big part of why we saw such a jump in red color across multiple varieties this week, Gala, RubyMac®, and the Fujis in particular.

This week looks like more of the same: highs mostly in the low-to-upper 80s with overnight lows in the mid-60s, staying partly to mostly sunny, with only a scattered thunderstorm chance midweek and later in the week. With the cool nights continuing, color should keep improving quickly, and this looks like a solid stretch for harvest work overall.

One of the varieties featured in this week's report—September Wonder® Fuji—presented a few interesting surprises.  It was quickly observed during collection that only a few trees near the top of the hill had a reasonable set of fruit, while others were completely barren (Figure 1).  At first impression, this was assumed to be due to freeze damage variation due to topography, but that was not borne out by additional observation. Alternating strips of laden and unladen healthy trees were throughout the block, leaving Fuji’s biennial tendencies as the most likely culprit.

Our collaborator said that this particular strain has been incredibly difficult to break out of the biennial cycle. So, a word of warning if seeking an early strain of Fuji: until additional research can be conducted on this particular strain and why it appears to be recalcitrant to return bloom sprays, it may be worthwhile to consider another.

The second surprise was the extent of seedlessness observed.  A significant number of fruits harvested were seedless (Figure 2). Several additional varieties examined this week were found to have a significant number of seedless fruit (Buckeye® Gala, Super Chief® Red Delicious, and RubyMac®).

This condition does not appear to have affected fruit development except in Buckeye® Gala where the fruit remained small despite abundant rainfall. (Rainfall, which induced significant cracking in Gala (Figure 3).

Varietal Analysis

The Gala (Buckeye®) block has already seen a first pick. Red color rose from 71.5% to 90.9%, firmness dropped from 22.5 to 21.2 lb, soluble solids ticked down slightly to 11.5 °Bx, and starch advanced from 4.1 to 4.9. Size increased only modestly to 188 g. This block has already finished its first pick, and with starch now approaching 5, it is past the window for long-term storage, so any remaining fruit should be prioritized for harvest now. Worth noting: most of the fruit analyzed for this report had barely any seeds, which significantly limited its size despite the rainfall received over the past few weeks.

RubyMac® moved in its maturity indexes quickly this week. Red color jumped from 79.5% to 88%, firmness dropped from 19.7 to 15.5 lb, soluble solids held near 11.9 °Bx, and starch advanced from 2.7 to 4.5. This block moved quickly and firmness is now dropping fast, so it should be harvested promptly.

In Adams County, a first picking of the original strain of Honeycrisp occurred, which is why it does not appear in this report.  Based on visual inspection of the fruit on the trees of other strains, it is likely that the other strains are at or near harvest potential. These should be inspected closely in local orchards.

There were some new varieties measured for the first time this week:

Fuji (Daybreak™/Rankin) came in at 244 g with strong red color (81.9%), firmness of 17.6 lb, soluble solids of 13.7 °Bx, and a starch index of 4.6. Sugars are excellent and starch is moderate; this strain can be harvested immediately as it already mature and has developed excellent color.

Fuji (September Wonder®) measured 298 g with 48.5% red color, firmness of 15.8 lb, soluble solids of 11.9 °Bx, and starch at 4.6. Color is well behind Daybreak Fuji but starch is tracking similarly, so despite the lighter finish this strain is not far behind internally. This strain can be harvested this week as well, if growers are waiting for color development in this variety and are harvesting this variety next week, then it could shorten its storage potential.

Jonathan came in at 198 g with excellent red color (86%), firmness of 17.2 lb, soluble solids of 10.9 °Bx, and a starch index of 5.9. This is a high starch reading, meaning that Jonathan fruit are overmature and it is already well into its harvest window and should be prioritized and harvested soon, and can only be stored for short-term storage of a couple months.

Red Delicious (Super Chief®) measured 218 g with the highest red color of the day at 90.5%, firmness of 18.9 lb, soluble solids of 9.4 °Bx, and starch at just 1.5. Starch conversion has barely started. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks as starch continues to develop.

Berks County

Discussion

Overall, Gala and Honeycrisp at Berks are still a few days behind Adams County, where both varieties were already being harvested last week. Both these varieties are now ready for harvest this week. Prioritize blocks going into long-term storage first.

Varietal Analysis

Gala continued to advance internally this week, Red blush color stayed the same for the most part. Firmness dropped from 23.8 to 21.7 lb, soluble solids rose to 13.3 °Bx, and starch nearly doubled from 1.9 to 3.7. Fruit sizes held steady around 148 g. With starch climbing quickly and firmness starting to soften, this block is at its harvest window and should be harvested.

Honeycrisp also kept progressing, though at a more measured pace than last week's jump. Firmness dropped further from 17.5 to 16.4 lb, soluble solids held strong near 14.0 °Bx, and starch was essentially flat at 3.8. Fruit averaged 188 g. Firmness continues to soften and sugars remain high, so this block is also at harvest maturity. Fruit destined for medium- or long-term storage should be picked soon rather than held for more color, while short-term sale blocks have a bit more flexibility.

Historical Data

The tables below contain the data collected in previous weeks of this year's reporting cycle. It is provided to provide information to growers who may be in regions where these varieties are still developing and to serve as a historical record of the 2026 growing season. Please review the previous weeks' reports for information on harvesting.

Adams County

Berks County

None of the Berks varieties sampled have been harvested. Historical data will appear here when varieties cycle out of the weekly sampling and reporting.

Acknowledgements

Starch index values were determined by referencing the Starch Index Scale published by Dr. Randy Beaudry and the MSU Apple Maturity Program at Michigan State University. The page referenced by the hyperlink provides access to a PDF copy of the document that can be freely downloaded.

Starch indexing for RubyMac® utilized the Cornell scale found in Predicting Harvest Date Windows for Apples by Blanpied and Silsby (1992).

Because of low crop set throughout our usual sampling regions, we are indebted to the following orchards for sacrificing fruit each week to make these reports possible:

• In Adams County, Penn State wishes to thank Hollabaugh Bros., Inc., in Biglerville, and Hector Mateos in particular for his assistance.
• In Berks County, Penn State wishes to thank Keim Orchard and Frecon Farms in Boyertown, and Ben Keim and Steve Frecon especially for their collaboration.

Their kindness and generosity deserves acknowledgement.

Penn State wishes to thank Rice Fruit Company for material support that help make these reports possible.

Conclusions

Commercial fruit growers, please note: apple maturity conditions need to be monitored at a local level within one's own orchard. Before chemical products are applied, be sure to comply with current federal, state, and local usage regulations and examine the product label. Product information can be easily obtained online from CDMS.

This series of updates is made possible by a State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania (SHAP) Extension Grant (Pennsylvania Apple Maturity Program). The authors thank SHAP for the funding.