Predicted 2014 apple harvest dates

Phil Schwallier<schwalli@msu.edu>, and Amy Irish-Brown, Michigan State University Extension - July 17, 2014

The 2014 predicted apple harvest dates are roughly one week behind normal and last year. Bloom dates during spring were also behind normal.

Editor's note: On Sept. 4, 2014, Table 3 of this article was expanded to give the harvest dates for both west central and southwest Michigan. Previous information was not changed or altered.

The predicted apple harvest dates are now available at all locations on the Michigan State University Enviro-weather website. In general, 2014 predicted harvest dates are roughly a week behind normal and a week behind last year. Bloom dates this spring were also behind normal across the state.

As always, the weather seems to be unusual each year and 2014 was no different. It began after an extremely long, cold winter with a late, cool spring that eventually became somewhat normal in May and June. Little to no frost events occurred. This unusual spring was also characterized by considerable and seemingly unending record precipitation in most state locations. Most apple growers were successful in thinning the crop with most growers under-thinning slightly. This moderate to heavy crop will mature close to the predicted dates. Blocks with light crop loads will mature three or four days sooner.

The normal harvest dates for other varieties are listed in Table 3 for the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. This year's 2014 predicted dates and adjusted predicted dates are a rough estimate based on the McIntosh, Jonathan and Red Delicious predicted dates. Michigan State University Extension recommends other areas of the state adjust non-predicted varieties based on their own history. ReTain application should be applied 30 days before harvest (DBH). Use Table 3’s 2014 predicted harvest dates to time ReTain applications and adjust for varieties and locations.

Table 1. 2014 predicted peak harvest dates

Full bloom date				Predicted harvest date			Observer
Station	McIntosh	Jonathans	Reds	McIntosh	Jonathans	Reds	Observer
SWMREC	May 12	May 13	May 13	Sept. 11	Oct. 1	Oct. 7	Bill Shane
Deerfield	May 12	May 14	May 16	Sept. 12	Sept. 30	Oct. 7	Bob Tritten
Romeo	May 15	May 17	May 17	Sept. 14	Oct. 1	Oct. 7	Bob Tritten
Peach Ridge	May 21	May 22	May 23	Sept. 19	Oct. 2	Oct. 10	Phil Schwallier
Hart	May 23	May 24	May 25	Sept. 23	Oct. 8	Oct. 14	Amy Irish-Brown
NWMHRS	May 27	May 31	May 31	Sept. 26	Oct. 13	Oct. 19	Nikki Rothwell

Table 2. 2014 predicted peak harvest dates compared to normal and last year

Days ahead of normal				Days ahead of last year
Station	McIntosh	Jonathans	Reds	McIntosh	Jonathans	Reds
SWMREC	-8	-7	-7	-6	-8	-8
Deerfield	-7	-7	-8	-4	-9	-5
Flint	-6	-5	-4	-1	-6	-4
Peach Ridge	-9	-8	-9	-5	-5	-6
Hart	-7	-5	-6	-5	-5	-4
NWMHRS	-7	-10	-9	-4	-7	-6

Table 3. Normal and 2014 peak harvest dates for varieties for the west central (Grand Rapids) and southwest Michigan areas*

Variety	Normal date (west central)	2014 predicted date (west central)	*Normal date (southwest)**	*2014 predicted date (southwest)**
Paula Red	Aug. 24	Aug. 28	Aug. 22	Aug. 21
Gingergold	Aug. 26	Aug. 30	Aug. 24	Aug. 23
Gala	Sept. 10	Sept. 14	Sept. 8	Sept. 7
McIntosh	Sept. 15	Sept. 19	Sept. 10	Sept. 11
Honeycrisp	Sept. 18	Sept. 22	Sept. 13	Sept. 19
Empire	Sept. 22	Sept. 26	Sept. 22	Sept. 23
Jonathan	Sept. 28	2-Oct	Sept. 22	Oct. 1
Jonagold	Sept. 28	2-Oct	Sept. 22	Oct. 1
Golden Delicious	Oct. 2	Oct. 6	Sept. 25	Oct. 3
Red Delicious	Oct. 5	Oct. 10	Sept. 28	Oct. 7
Ida Red	Oct. 10	Oct. 14	Oct. 5	Oct. 11
Rome	Oct. 15	Oct. 18	Oct. 5	Oct. 15
Fuji	Oct. 25	Oct. 28	Oct. 20	Oct. 25
Braeburn	Oct. 25	Oct. 28	Oct. 20	Oct. 25
Goldrush	Nov. 1	Nov. 4	Oct. 26	Nov. 1

*Southwest prediction based on weather station data for the Southwest Michigan Research Center site in central Berrien County. Sites north of here, closer to Lake Michigan, and on heavier soils will generally harvest later.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).