Apple harvesting: how and when to harvest. When to collect apples for storage? When to harvest summer and winter varieties

There is no culture more popular with gardeners than apples. It is rare in any garden that these bright and juicy fruitsrich in vitamins and minerals. It would seem that harvesting apples is a simple matter. But for the fruits to be stored longer, you need to correctly harvest the apples and take into account a number of features. I will tell you about them.

When to harvest

It is customary to divide apple varieties into three groups:

summer varieties;
autumn varieties;
winter varieties.

When it comes time to harvest the apples depends on the variety of apples grown on your site. Moreover, and on your goals. So, the harvest of summer varieties is eaten immediately. Apple picking begins in mid-August, and their keeping quality is low, no more than a month. Autumn varieties are harvested from late August - early September, you can store the crop for up to 4 months. True, by the end of the shelf life, the pulp of the apples becomes loose. Winter varieties are the mildest. They are harvested from the end of September - mid-October; they are unsuitable for food immediately from a branch. The harvest of winter varieties matures as they are stored, they can be stored until spring.

How to determine the ripeness of apples

The indicated terms are very conditional. The ripeness of apples is influenced by the temperature and humidity of the air, tree care, and the dryness of summer. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to correctly determine the ripeness of apples. I will teach you how to do it. Harvesting early will degrade the taste of apples. If apples are overexposed on the branches, they will taste mealy and the flesh will turn brown. There are several ways to determine the maturity of apples:

Carrion. If there are large apples among the fallen ones, the harvest is ripe.
Push the apple thumb... If the dent is gone, the apples are not ripe. If the peel has parted under your finger, you are late in harvesting. If the dent doesn't even out, start harvesting.
Tasting. The ripe fruit is bright and even in color, without darkening on the skin. The pulp is light, sweet and sour. The bones are dark brown.
Chemical method. Prepare a solution of water, potassium iodide and iodine. Drop the solution onto the apple cut and watch the reaction for a couple of minutes. Iodine reacts with starch, which is abundant in unripe apples, the amount of starch decreases as it ripens. If the cut turns blue, the fruits are not ripe. A yellow cut indicates that the crop has been overexposed. Blue border with yellow core - start harvesting.

There are specially prepared chemical kitsto run a test based on the latter option.

How to harvest

Any gardener knows how to properly harvest apples. For this work will do afternoon. Wait for warm sunny weather, no precipitation. It is important to follow this rule when collecting winter varieties. Start picking apples from the lower branches, gradually going up. Reach for the apples growing on the upper branches, help special devicesfor example, a hook for bending branches or a special structure for collecting apples, similar to a landing net. On the south side of the tree, apples ripen two to three days faster. Pick the apples carefully together with the stalk, try not to damage the tree branches. Remember that only healthy fruits are suitable for storage, without dents, damage and wormholes.

How to store crops

To preserve the apple harvest, prepare wooden crates with ventilation holes... Treat them with a solution of potassium permanganate and dry thoroughly in the sun. Then place blank sheets of paper on the bottom. Place apples in boxes immediately after harvest, without leaving them in the sun. The fruits should not be washed in order to leave intact a matte film that protects them from rotting. Leave the boxes in a cool, ventilated area. Maintain temperature up to 5 degrees, do not freeze. Systematically sort through apples and remove rotten and spoiled specimens.

Hopefully, in this article I have answered all the questions about the fall harvest of apples. Bountiful harvest to you!

A rich apple harvest will delight any gardener. But at the same time the question arises with joy: how can all this wealth be kept fresh until spring? What varieties are best stored, how to determine their degree of maturity, what methods of stacking apples exist - read about all this in our article.

Every gardener knows that growing a crop is only half the battle, you still need to be able to save it. Experienced gardeners the wisdom of "apple longevity" mastered a long time ago, they have been empirically developed the maximum effective ways storing apples to preserve their benefits, aroma and freshness.

Choice the right varieties, harvesting according to all the rules, correct sorting, stacking, optimum temperature and moisture - these are the main components of long-term storage.

Choosing the right varieties

Whether apples will be stored for a long time without deteriorating taste depends on their variety. Varieties have such a concept as keeping quality, that is, the ability to maintain nutritional and nutritional properties for a certain, sufficiently long time.

It is the late (winter) varieties of apples that are harvested starting from mid-October with excellent keeping quality. Today, the most famous and popular are the following winter varieties:

Aurora - a variety that is resistant to low temperatures and fungal diseases. Fruits are large, round in shape with a blurred wide blush, distinguished by a pronounced aroma and juiciness. Harvesting begins in early October. This variety keeps well until spring, even in the refrigerator.
Jonathan - one of the most famous winter varieties. Fruits are small, differ pleasant aroma and a wine-sweet aftertaste; under optimal storage conditions, they do not lose their nutritional qualities until mid-May.
Golden Delicious — american variety, medium-sized fruits, golden color, juicy, are valued for their great taste and aroma. Apples of this variety ripen by the end of September, are well stored until mid-April.
Calvil snow - Ukrainian variety of folk selection. Fruits are medium in size, greenish white. It can be stored well in the basement without losing its taste and aroma until mid-April.
Renet Simirenko - the most common late grade Russian selection. The fruits are large, round in shape, have a pronounced aroma and sweet and sour taste. Apples of this variety when favorable conditions can be stored until summer.
King David - American late variety, differing high yield... Medium-sized fruits have a flat-rounded shape, with a dark red blush covering almost all of their surface. This apple variety has a spicy aroma, juiciness and excellent taste.

It is very difficult to describe all the variety of varieties within the framework of one article. You can find out more information by consulting with specialists involved in the cultivation of apples in your area.

How to harvest correctly

You should carefully prepare for picking apples: pick up a tool, clean containers and storage, plan the order of work. In this case, it is very important to determine whether the apples are ripe - unripe and overripe will not lie.

Determining maturity

Determine that it is time to remove apples from the branch can be visually, by the fall. If tasty large apples with characteristic varietal characteristics have already appeared among the fallen fruits, then the rest are ready for picking.

You can also determine the ideal maturity by the following criteria:

press on the apple, if the dent has disappeared - the crop is not yet ripe;
if the peel bursts when pressed, the apples are considered overripe, they are not suitable for storage;
ideal full maturity is indicated by a non-leveling, sagging skin.

Maturity can be determined "in a scientific way", in a special chemical way. To do this, dissolve 4 grams of potassium iodide and 1 gram of iodine in a liter of distilled water. The apple is cut in half and dipped in the solution. Maturity in this case is defined as follows:

if after two minutes the edges and middle of the apple turned blue, it means there is a lot of starch in it, which indicates immaturity;
if there is blue at the edges, and yellow in the middle, maturity is ideal;
availability of only yellow color - the apple is overripe.

Experienced gardeners believe that let the apples be unripe rather than overripe and start to rot.

We pick apples from trees correctly

For harvesting winter apples choose a warm, clear, dry day. It is best to do this in the afternoon, when the air is warm enough and the fruits are perfectly dry.

The fruits are picked very carefully so as not to damage. The apple is taken with all fingers, with the index finger pressing on the stalk where it is attached to the fruit branch, and the fruit is slightly lifted up. Do not twist, break off or pull the apple down. In fruits destined for long-term storage, in no case need to tear off the stalk, this significantly reduces the keeping quality of the crop.

When harvesting winter apples, do not wipe off the matte film, the so-called natural wax coating. Plucked apples must not be thrown; they must be carefully placed in a container prepared in advance.

Sorting apples

Immediately after harvesting, it should be held in a cool room for 15-20 days, after which sorting should be carried out - during this time all signs will appear possible defects... After that, it is necessary to sort the apples, selecting fruits with stalks for storage without wormholes and mechanical damage.

Apples different varieties it is recommended to store them in different containers, you should also sort them by size - small, medium and large. After that, we put the crop into storage using one or more of the following methods.

Putting apples in storage

For apples, it is better to allocate a separate pantry or cellar. The fact is that these fruits, during storage, emit a lot of ethylene - a gas that contributes to the early ripening of other vegetables. The increased content of ethylene in the cellar leads to the fact that root crops (potatoes, carrots, beets, celery) sprout strongly and spoil faster. Therefore, it is strongly not recommended to store apples together with these vegetables.

Before laying apples, the room should be well cleaned and disinfected. The walls are whitewashed with a solution of freshly slaked lime and copper sulfate in proportion: 10 l of water, 150 g of vitriol, 1.5 kg of lime. The floors are sprayed with a solution ferrous sulfate (450-500 g) per 10 liters of water.

Late apples, depending on the variety and temperature and humidity indicators, can retain their nutritional value for 4-7 months. Ideal conditions for storage in this case are considered: air temperature from 0 to + 3 ... 4 degrees, relative humidity at the level of 85-90%. If the humidity is lower, the apples wither quickly.

For winter storage any container is suitable, the main requirements for which are purity and strength. It can be wicker baskets, wooden, cardboard or plastic boxeswhich must be thoroughly cleaned before use.

There are various ways to store apples in winter.

Simple styling

Apples are laid with the stalks upward in one, two or three layers, without shifting anything. In this way, many apples can be laid, but this method is considered the most "short-lived", the bookmarks should be checked regularly to prevent the spread of possible foci of decay.

Paper wrapping

Each apple taken separately is wrapped in paper napkins or plain white paper and placed in a prepared container with the stalks up. If all the fruits are healthy, then apples can be stored for a long time.

Interleaving (pouring)

Most optimal way winter storage. The best material in this case, there will be well washed and dried sand with the addition of ash in a ratio of 1:10. Sand with ash is poured onto the bottom of the prepared container with a layer of 3-4 centimeters, then the apples are laid out so that they do not touch each other. They fall asleep with sand again. In this way, 3-4 layers can be laid.

Instead of sand with ash, you can use other materials: sawdust, leaves or shavings of trees (not conifers), onion peel, sunflower husk, peat or moss.

Storage in the ground

If on personal plot there is no cellar, you can save the harvest of apples in the ground. To do this, dig a trench 50-60 cm deep, 30-40 cm wide in advance. The bottom of the trench is covered with coniferous spruce branches or juniper branches - this will protect the bookmark from rodents. Apples are packed in plastic bags of 4-5 kg \u200b\u200beach and placed on the bottom, then covered with earth. To protect against severe frosts, dry foliage can be poured on top.

Carbon dioxide or UV treatment

The apple harvest is wonderfully stored in the cellar in plastic bags, into which carbon dioxide is pumped through a small hole using a siphon for carbonating water. The hole is then quickly sealed.

Some summer residents treat apples laid in one layer with a bactericidal ultraviolet lamp within 30-40 minutes. The lamp is suspended at a distance of 1.5 meters, the apples are turned over once for uniform processing. This method allows you to destroy most harmful fungi and bacteria that cause the development of rot.

By keeping the apple harvest in storage, you can enjoy the fragrant healthy fruit and make sure that your body is not harmed by chemicals that are often found in fruits sold in supermarkets in winter.

In fact, figuring out how to store Antonovka is quite difficult, since this variety of apples does not have a good keeping quality. When they are grown commercially, special chemicals are usually used to better protect these fruits from premature spoilage. In addition, in this case, the technology of collecting apples and storing them is strictly observed.

When the right approach fruits can be stored almost until the end of winter, even at home. However, in this case, there are a number of subtleties that must be taken into account. How much apples are stored depends largely on how they were collected and packed, as well as on the temperature and humidity in the room where they will be located. Without taking into account all these features, it will be extremely difficult to ensure that the fruits do not rot.

Collection of Antonovka and its packaging for storage

Almost all apple varieties have a special wax coating on the surface. It protects fruits not only from pathogenic bacteria and many types of pests, but also atmospheric phenomena... This is very important pointto which should be turned special attention... In order for Antonovka to be kept at home as long as possible, you need to collect the fruits even before they overripe and at the same time very carefully so as not to damage the existing wax cover.

Collection technique

It is best to start picking fruit from the lower tiers of the tree. Do not take them with your hands. It is best to twist the apples while keeping the stalk intact. You need to collect fruits only when there is no precipitation. It is necessary to start work in the middle of the day, when the existing dew is completely dry. Apples plucked wet do not stay long. Putting fruits on the ground during harvesting is also not worth it, since in the future they will most likely begin to rot.

Sorting

All fruits that are defective or were crumpled during harvest are best put aside immediately, since they are not suitable for storage. Further, the entire harvested crop of Antonovka must be sorted by size. It is known that large fruits secrete more ethylene, which promotes faster ripening of small ones. To avoid this, apples different sizes must be sorted into separate containers.

What to store

To store apples, you need to prepare cardboard or wooden boxes and, if necessary, make many holes in them, they should also be disinfected and dried in advance. It should be borne in mind that after harvesting the apples are recommended to be stored for 12-24 hours. The bottom of the container intended for storing Antonovka must be carefully covered with paper. Fruits are laid down with the stalks to avoid damage.

Some gardeners wrap each fruit before storing it with soft paper towels, or sprinkle it with hardwood sawdust after placing it in crates. This really helps to avoid damage to the fruit during storage and in some cases improves the keeping quality of the fruit, since they do not touch each other. However, the effect of this method is not very significant, so it is quite possible to do without it.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that if the fruits are wrapped in soft paper or covered with sawdust, it is quite possible to use the space remaining in the box to form the next layer. This saves considerable space if only deep containers are available. It is impossible to lay 1 layer of apples directly on top of another, as this will significantly reduce their shelf life and cause rapid fruit decay.

Chemical method

Some modern gardeners use chemical methods to increase the shelf life of Antonovka. For this purpose, it is often used

alcohol solution of propolis;
vaseline oil;
wax;
glycerin, etc.

The fruits are carefully rubbed with these substances before storing them. This method has its drawbacks. This treatment removes the natural waxy coating and increases the risk of apple damage. In addition, rubbing the fruit with various chemicals can cause deterioration of their taste and useful qualities.

Immediately before taking the boxes with apples to the room where they will be stored, you need to place the containers in separate transparent plastic bags... They need to be tied. This will prevent moisture loss and oxygen supply. In most cases, this method allows you to keep the crop longer. At the same time, it must be taken into account if there is a fungus on the fruit, high humidity can cause an increase in its number.

Creating conditions for storing Antonovka at home

This apple variety usually does not last longer than 3 months, but under optimal conditions it can be slightly extended.

The optimum temperature for storing Antonovka ranges from +2 to 0 ° C. The relative humidity in the room should be around 90-95%.

It is very important that such conditions are maintained in the cellar throughout the entire storage period of apples. This will prevent the fruit from gradually wilting. Do not lay these fruits next to vegetables, as the latter can be a source of fungal infection. If possible, you should periodically inspect the fruit and remove those that are affected by rot or mold. This will keep the remaining ones longer.

How much Antonovka is stored depends not only on how carefully the preparation for its laying was carried out, but also on the conditions in which it will be located. When harvesting apples of this variety for the winter, you need to take into account that large specimens should be eaten first. Such fruits never dry up.

Due to the excess moisture content, large apples, spoiling, begin to rot, which contributes to the defeat of other fruits. Relatively small fruits can be stored for 4-5 months when creating optimal conditions for them at home.

The experience of gardeners. Video

With the arrival of autumn, the issue of harvest time comes to the fore. Not always a gardener, especially an inexperienced beginner, can accurately determine when the apples are ripe. It is assumed that the autumn harvest of apples goes on. But not all apples will fit: overripe apples will not lie, unripe ones did not have time to accumulate enough sugars.

I have several varieties of apple trees with different ripening periods. With summer apples, everything is quite simple, since usually these apples are eaten immediately, and what they have not mastered goes to. But with autumn harvest you have to be a little more courteous: remove the apples in time, so that the taste is excellent and that they remain as long as possible.

How do you know when it's time to pick apples from a branch?

I can tell it by eye and carrion. If beautiful large apples have already appeared among the fallen apples, it means that they are ready for picking.

If beautiful large apples have already appeared among the fallen apples, it means that they are ready for picking

You can additionally check on other grounds:

You need to put pressure on the apple. The dent is gone - the apple is not ready for harvest.
When pressed, the skin burst - the crop is overripe. Cook before it's too late!
A sagging, not leveling skin indicates the full ripeness of the apple. Feel free to start harvesting.
External signs and taste qualities: fruit size is medium, without wormholes, bright skin color: red, yellow-scarlet, yellow-green. The fruits should be juicy, with a sweet and sour taste. The exception is sweet-tasting varieties. The seeds of a ripe apple are brown.
Flesh: white or creamy, soft.
The most scientific - chemical method determination of fruit ripeness:

we take 1 liter of distilled water and dissolve in it 4 g of potassium iodide, 1 g of iodine;
cut the apple into 2 parts and lower it into the solution;
if, after 2 minutes, the apple turns blue at the edges and in the middle, this indicates a large amount of starch, which is abundant in an unripe apple;
color: blue at the edges, and yellow in the middle indicates good ripeness of apples;
the absence of blue and the presence of only yellow indicates that the apple is overripe.

There are also special kits for the chemical determination of fruit ripeness. The contents of the kit are diluted with water and applied to an apple cut, after which the result is compared with the pictures in the table included in the kit.

From my own experience, I can say: it would be better if the apples are somewhat unripe than they overripe and start to rot.

When to start picking apples?

How long they will be stored depends on how competently you determine the removable ripeness of apples. Apples are divided into three groups according to the ripening period.

1. Summer varieties
They begin to collect them from the second half of August. The fruits already have a sufficient amount of sugars, but they only last about a month. Therefore, they are more often used for processing and eating fresh vitamin-containing fruit.

2. Autumn varieties
They begin to collect from late August - early September. The shelf life of such apples reaches 4 months. Usually we prepare "Orlik": these delicious apples stored for about 3 months, but the pulp becomes loose over time.

3. Winter varieties
The well-known "" and "White filling". Winter varieties are the mildest. The collection should start from the end of September - mid-October. On time and correctly removed will lie until spring (February - March).

Winter apples that are ready to harvest are not necessarily ready to eat right after being picked from the tree. They have to lie down, accumulate sugar, and only then they become tasty. So, for example, "Antonovk" and with a yellowish skin color and bright pulp is ready to be picked, but whoever tasted the apple will grimace - sour! But in winter the same "Antonovka" taken from the basement - you will lick your fingers! The longer these apples lie, the tastier they become.

How to harvest apples?

First you need to choose a clear, warm and dry day. Harvesting is desirable in the afternoon. This is especially true for winter varieties harvested in late autumn - the air will have time to warm up, and the apples will be completely dry (the dew will evaporate). Summer, autumn varieties can be removed after rain, but let the fruits dry before harvesting.

Harvesting fruit preferably in the afternoon

I always start harvesting from the lower branches, gradually moving towards the top. On the south side, apples ripen a little earlier, so we start with it, and the next day (or after 2-3 days) we harvest from the north side.

I pick the apples carefully, carefully put them in the bucket. Sick, damaged and wormy I mercilessly reject. Yes, and I try not to store the carrion. Do not remove the stalk from fruits intended for long-term storage, this affects keeping quality. It is necessary to carefully handle the harvest already at the harvesting stage. Twisting, peeling and breaking apples from branches will not do anything good in the future.

How to store apple harvest?

Our family pays special attention to keeping apples. Even autumn varieties lie a little longer, if you observe simple, but such useful rules... So, we prepare the place and container.

It is best to store the apple harvest in wooden boxes... I pre-treat them with a solution of potassium permanganate, and then dry them well in the sun in a few days. Then I cover the bottom with newspapers or thick paper.

Important: Do not expose apples to the sun and outdoors... Sort out the harvested crop immediately and store it.

My air is very humid, so I put containers with fluffy lime around the boxes with apples, which helps to absorb excess moisture. I am not a supporter of the idea of \u200b\u200bsprinkling the fruit directly with lime (although many do just that), and you are free to choose any option. If the air, on the contrary, is too dry, place containers with sand near the apple boxes, water it regularly - as the sand dries, the air will be humidified. Remember that storage quality is also affected by temperature regime: in storage should be no higher than +2 .. + 5 ° С. Freezing is also unacceptable.

There is an opinion that apples should be put into boxes one by one. I think this makes sense for summer varieties. Winter ones can be poured into boxes by carefully lowering the bucket (basket) to the level of the apples already poured, then they will roll out together and evenly, without damage. Do not embarrass apples in their "winter apartment" - do not shake or compact by hand in order to squeeze at least one or two apples into the box.

Of course, during storage, some of the fruits may deteriorate. Harvest such apples right away to keep others from getting infected.

How to pick apples?

Manual way
With all the development of technology in horticulture, it is still the most the best way harvesting - manual.

Apples must be picked carefully, carefully folding them into boxes to avoid mechanical damage to the fruit.

Using various devices
Today on the market there are many devices for picking apples even from the uppermost branches: a loop, a basket (or bag) with a long handle.

Each variety of apples different term ripening: some are harvested in autumn, others can be harvested at the end of summer. It is important not to allow the crop to overripe, otherwise it will not be stored for a long time.

You can not remove unripe fruits, because they did not have time to accumulate a sufficient amount of sugar and they sour. In order not to be mistaken, you need to know not only at what time a particular variety ripens, but also be able to visually determine when the harvest is ready.

How to know when apples are ripe

First of all, you should pay attention to the padanka. If there are many large and beautiful fruits lying on the ground, then the time has come for harvesting.

You can determine the maturity of apples by the following features:

If, when pressing on the fruit, a dent does not form, then it is not yet ripe, the skin has burst - it is overripe and is not suitable for long-term storage. From such apples you get tasty preparations: jam or jam.
If, when you press on the fruit, a dent forms and does not level out, it means that it is fully ripe and you can safely start harvesting.
Ripe apples have a whitish or creamy flesh.
Maturity is spoken of outward signs: the fruit has reached the desired size (it is different for each variety), there are no wormholes on the surface, the color is red or with the presence of a yellow tint. The apple tastes sweet and sour or sweet (depending on the variety). The seeds of ripe fruits are brown in color.

There is a very interesting method for determining the degree of ripeness of apples. This will require 1 liter of distilled water, 4 g of potassium iodide and 1 g of iodine are placed in it. When the composition is ready, half of the fruit is dipped into it. Unripe fruits contain a lot of starch, which will start to turn blue in the solution. After 2 minutes, the flesh will change color. According to the acquired color, the following conclusions can be drawn:

the apple in the area of \u200b\u200bthe core and along the edges turned blue - it is too early to harvest;
the blue color did not appear - the fruits are already ripe;
a blue color formed around the edges, and the middle turned yellow - the apples are ripe, you can start picking.

Garden stores sell special kits consisting of chemical ingredients, from which a solution is made and dripped onto the cut of the fruit. The table that is attached to each product determines the degree of maturity.

When to start harvesting?

You need to start harvesting apples in a timely manner, because the degree of readiness for winter storage depends on this. According to the ripening time, varieties are divided into 3 types:

Summer. They are not suitable for winter storage, the fruits can be harvested already in the 2nd half of August, but they will last no more than a month, so they are either immediately eaten or prepared.
Collection time autumn varieties starts at the end of August and ends at the beginning of autumn. The apples will last 3-4 months.
Winter varieties. They are best suited for long-term storage. Fruits keep well until March. The growing season starts at the end of September and ends in mid-October.

It is better not to eat winter varieties of apples immediately after harvest, as the fruits will still be slightly sour. After lying down for a while, they will become more tasty and sugar will accumulate in them (the longer, the sweeter they will be).