Starting last week, we have been testing the maturity of various apple cultivars at our research farm. With the unseasonably cool weather over the past 10 days, particularly the night temperatures, red color is developing very nicely in many cultivars. Growers in the Winchester/Frederick County area have been picking Ginger Golds since last week, and some spot picking of Gala and Honeycrisp has begun this week.
The below linked pdf contains the fruit maturity data to date. Due to differences in location, soils, rootstocks, strains, etc. these data may not represent the fruit maturity in your own orchards.
Please see my previous posts about maturity indices, predicted harvest dates, and pre-harvest drop treatments for more information.