How to get the BEST Honeycrisp

September is a big month for Honeycrisp, undoubtably the king of the the apple category in terms of recognition. Here in Western NY harvest starts around the 10th of the month and rolls on for the next 14+ days. Of course the most demanded apple happens to be one of the most temperamental! Growers take many steps to maximize fruit integrity and garner high quality packouts. However maintaining Honeycrisp excellence doesn't stop once the fruit leaves the farm. From orchard to retail shelf, here are some of the most important steps to make in maintaining the crisp, juicy honeycrisp flavor!

Best practices at the farm...

Let me start in saying that I am but a novice in the industry, many vets have forgotten more than I could ever hope to learn. After a couple years in the industry and many, many discussions with some of the best growers that NY has to offer I feel there are a couple brightly lit signs in the route towards growing an exceptional honeycrisp apple in the orchard.

>> Reducing Bitter Pit

Rootstock selection will be key in mitigating the all too well know defect of bitter pit which is essentially a calcium deficiency in the fruit which results in cell wall breakdown that worsens in storage. Why is rootstock selection so important? Calcium flows with water throughout the plant, more vigorous rootstocks will result in more vegetative growth (leaves and shoots) and as the water is moving towards these more tender parts of the plant so will most of the available calcium, leaving your fruits susceptible to issues regardless of how much calcium you include in your fertility plan. Weaker/calmer rootstocks like B9 and B10 give less push to the tree compared to some more vigorous alternatives. Out west we are hearing G969 is also a good option for honeys.

Limiting Potassium is also very important to control bitter pit. Although a great tool in other varieties to push size and yield, this nutrient competes for plant uptake and if there is a good amount of it available you will limit how much calcium can absorbed.

Root Pruning is a remedy option for those plantings that might have gone out on more vigorous rootstocks such as G41. Aggressively pruning suckers and shoots on trees triggers a vegetative reaction from trees, often spurring new regrowth in the canopy. However pruning roots has proven to send the tree to shock, making the tree more generative as their life lines in the ground are beat back. From my conversations with growers this can be done every couple of years.

>> Picking honeycrisp

Honeycrisp are renowned for their light crisp interior and fair, delicate skin. Yet this sought after combo is a great recipe for stem punctures during harvest. Stem clipping is common harvest practice for honeycrisp. Pickers are outfitted with a pair of tiny clippers that are shaped to the stem bowl of the fruit. After each fruit is removed from the tree, every stem is clipped beneath the plane of the fruit shoulder, virtually eliminating occurrence of stem punctures as the fruit is jostled between bag and bin. We generally feel stem clipping is a 10-15% increase on your packout, and when your talking honeycrisp that could mean translate to some serious gains.

Honeycrisp are commonly picked 2-3 times each season. Each pick is aiming at take the largest, ripest and most colored fruit. After each pass the tree has a lighter load to carry, hopefully pushing those remaining fruit further along.

Bruising is another key focal point during harvest. Though it may be a goal to minimize bruising on every variety, the lack of density in honeycrisp flesh makes them that much more susceptible to the issue, so practices used to harvest other varieties might not cut it for this problem child. Paying pickers by the hour vs. by the piece encourages quality over quantity, and if you'd got some nice plastic macro bins on hand, honeycrisp harvest is the time to use em!

Storage is key...

Perhaps not the most action packed or exciting part of the process, having your storage protocol dialed in will ensure that those honeys eaten in April taste just like they do today!

It all starts with preconditioning. Holding the fruit at 50F for 7 days makes a big difference in the incidence of chill injury in honeycrisp. This process helps the fruit tip, toe their way towards their long term temp of 38F. And yes, honeycrisp are best stored a bit warmer than most other varieties. Once again one more way this special apple needs to be treated a special way.

As we are learning now Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere (DCA) is the way to go on many varieties. In these new systems O2 levels can get down to 0.6%. This lack of O2 inhibits respiratory actions of the fruit, effectively putting them to sleep. New monitoring tecniques allow us to measure how the fruit are reacting to the storage conditions, offering insights telling us if the fruit is being held correctly.

Packing and Shipping...

Another benefit of the 38F storage is that the fruit are a bit warmer when going over the grading line. Regardless of the apple variety warmer fruit often bruises less during packing, so that component is already in our favor.

Honeycrisp skew towards larger sized fruit which can make packing poly bags, pouches or gyros a bit cumbersome, as the honeycrisp variations of these packstyles are often smaller than thier counterparts in order to reduce sticker shock at the register. I believe you're going to get your best qaulity honeycrisp in trays, day in and day out. Buyers seem to be convinced other wise, perhaps not for reasons around fruit quality but it's worth plugging anyways.

When it comes to shipping it's great to maintain that slighter warmer temperature if possible. 38F helps to avoid any chill damage to the fruit and allows the fruit to shine to its true potential when the consumer picks it up at the store!

About United Apples Sales...

Established in 1905, United Apple Sales is a leading Tree Fruit Marker in the Northeastern US. Proudly representing over 50 New York apple, pear and cherry growers to provide year round supply of tree fruit to customers throughout the East Coast and Mid-West. Priding themselves on integrity and quality in both their fruit and their service to the customer, United is seeking to expand their customer base and find the right home for every piece of fruit grown on the farms they represent. Please call 585-765-2460 for more details.