Apple harvest has begun in Pennsylvania. “We started a couple of weeks ago,” says Valerie Ramsburg of Rice Fruit Company, adding that the overall harvest could be similar to last year’s crop in terms of size, although it is still very early in the season. “Late July to early August has been our typical timing in recent years.”
Earlier this year, Rice Fruit thought the season would start early – but the weather became more seasonal and warm temperatures kept the crop on the trees. “We’re going a more traditional route now. The bloom was very good. It was a staggered bloom like we’ve had a few years in a row,” says Ramsburg. The grower-friendly weather meant the flowers were pollinated over a couple of weeks, rather than the shorter window of a couple of days.
Pennsylvania also hasn’t had much rain this season until heavy rains hit the region last week. “Last week was very wet, which is usually not good when you start harvesting. Then the sun came back and thankfully there wasn’t much rain damage,” Ramsburg says.
The company started this season harvesting Wildfire Gala, an early variety of the Gala variety, and then switched to Premier Honeycrisp. Typically, growers pick these early varieties in multiple passes to allow the fruit to color and ripen. What’s helping with that lately is the nighttime temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius.
Variety information
This week the harvest of the regular varieties Gala and Honeycrisp as well as Ginger Gold begins. In September the harvest of the varieties Red Delicious and Golden Delicious as well as other varieties begins.
In terms of demand, the season is off to a good start as buyers and consumers seek out new crop apples. Once the pipeline is filled towards the end of September and into October, demand may ease a bit, but should stabilize by the holiday season.
Fall is usually a busy time in the apple market as the previous year’s harvest ends and the new crop begins. “The key is to work with retailers to offer great tasting apples at a fair price to encourage repeat purchases,” says Ramsburg.
For more information:
Valerie Ramsburg
Rice fruit company
(email protected)
www.ricefruit.com
