North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Dennis Norton" <dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>]

Late September to early October is not unusual for Red Delicious, depending on the EXACT CULTIVAR.    Picking them early doesn't hurt if they are stored correctly.  Our Dixie Red Delicious were our best ever this year and have lasted in refrigeration through this past Monday when we cleaned out our remaining inventory for the Society of St. Andrews.  You will want to refrigerate them at 34 degrees, not 40 though.  Don't let them get above 35 because breakdown can begin at 36 degrees. 

The higher the holding temperature, the greater the softening and respiration rate and the sooner the quality becomes unacceptable. Apples respire and degrade twice as fast at 40 F as at 32 F. At 60 F they will respire and degrade more than six times faster. The optimum storage temperature for apples depends on the variety, but all are within the range from 30 to 40 F. Most apple varieties are best stored at or near 34 F.  Apples are moderately susceptible to freeze damage at 27 F and will freeze at 25 F. Temperatures more than 1 or 2 degrees below freezing should be avoided for storage.  Hope this helps.

Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com

----- Original Message -----

From: AKManty

To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 4:40 PM

Subject: [NAFEX] Ripening red delicious

Our red delicious apples, this year, are still "green" inside, though don't taste too bad.  They were not picked until October, previous to a strong wind storm coming in, not due to frost/freeze.  Else they could have been left on longer.  We are keeping them in spare refrigerator, about 40 degrees.  Any suggestions?  Is it too early for them yet?  Is it just this year?
Any help would be appreciated.