Finding a ripe, juicy apple to pick should be much easier this year after last season’s crop was devastated by frost.
The New York State Apple Association is expecting the upcoming yield of the state’s official fruit to be strong given “near-perfect” growing conditions bolstered production to typical levels. The weather conditions followed a more normal pattern this season, unlike last year’s early spring that decimated apples orchards statewide and left consumers with little to hand pick off trees.
“We know our short crop last year left everyone with a taste for more,” said Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, in a statement. “Most important for New York apple lovers in our state, we can better deliver on our commitment to get our apples to you fresher and faster than anywhere else.”
Fruit size and sugars are expected to be ideal because of “strong bloom, good pollination and plenty of sunlight, heat and moisture,” according to NYAA officials. Popular varieties should also be more readily available, including Gala, McIntosh, Empire and the newer Honey Crisp, as a result of new plantings made over the past five to six years.
“We want retailers to know that we have more than rebounded from last year, thanks to much more benevolent weather and smart growers who’ve been planting more of what consumers want,” Allen said.
Last year, the state’s apple crop was estimated at around 17.1 million bushels, but this year’s production could see yields exceeding 30 million bushels, according to NYAA.
Peter Ten Eyck, owner of Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont, said last year’s “incredibly warm” temperatures in March caused apple trees to bloom in April. The apples then largely succumbed to frost, with Ten Eyck losing around 90 percent of his crop.
This year, he said it should be “normal” or slightly above that amount.
“It looks like we are going to have a good crop,” Ten Eyck said. “It won’t be record breaking. We have too few apples in some places and more than normal in other places.”
Edward Miller, owner of Goold Orchards in Castleton, said he expects similar crop yields making for an average season.
“I would say it is a standard crop that we would have,” Miller said. “We have a good crop and quality crop despite the rains that we have fought. It has been an extremely wet year so a lot of fungicide sprays have to be put on to keep disease out of trees.”
Miller said his farm also suffered significant loss last year, near 98 percent on his orchards. He ended up having to offer customers a “pick your own” experience by placing apples in baskets.
“The quality of the apple we had out there was far less than what I would have liked to see and we had to bring in fruit from other locations on Hudson Valley to run operations,” he said.
Some customers were understanding of the reduced crop last year, Miller said, but others weren’t pleased to not have an apple picking outing – a fall tradition for many families.
“We are just going to keep our fingers crossed and get these picked in good condition,” Miller said.
One thing left that could still affect apple is hail, Ten Eyck said. Some sunny days and cold nights will also help apples reach the more marketable red colors consumers have come to prefer. He said crops also do poorly when there are wide fluctuations of weather, such as from very wet to very hot.
“We have a store and make doughnuts and stuff like that but we are primarily a farm,” Ten Eyck said. “Our mission as a farm is … to get Americans to stop sliding down the slippery slope by feeding ourselves from waving money in the air.”
The redness of an apple though isn’t a good way to judge the quality, Miller said. Even if an apple isn’t that bright red color, for applicable varieties, it’s likely just as tasty inside.
“An American wants to look 90 percent red and very pretty,” he said. “Unfortunately it was what people have bred these things to do. The Red Delicious used to be 25 percent red and now are 95 percent red and they look like they are painted.”
He said people are starting to change their minds after some newly offered varieties without a red sheen have proven tasty, such as the Honey Crisp. Educating people about the crop is key to them understanding and welcoming those other types, he said.
“There are some very good varieties out there … that really don’t get much more than 50 percent red and they really eat good,” Miller said.
Indian Ladder Farms and Goold Orchards are both expecting to start picking apples on Labor Day, with their orchards open to public.
Ten Eyck said apple growers are going to need more than one good season to rebound from last year’s losses, though.
“We are going to be for several years digging our way out of that hole,” he said.