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Ready for Apple Harvest?

Summer apple harvest has started - fresh Sunrise, Paulared and Quinte's are on the market, a signal to gear up for the main fall harvest. Are you ready?

Here are a few suggestions to get ready for a smooth harvest season:

• Refresh your maturity test kit. Stop by the pharmacy to get a fresh batch of iodine solution (here's the recipe: Dissolve 8.8 g potassium iodide in 30 mL of warm water. Gently stir until properly dissolved. Add 2.2 g of iodine crystals. Shake until crystals are thoroughly dissolved. Dilute mixture with water to make 1.0 L of test solution. Store in a dark bottle).
  
• Check over your pressure tester, and your refractometer to measure firmness and sugars. Obtain starch-iodine charts and protect them from rain. Prepare record sheets to record results on harvest maturity.
  
• Apply stop-drop materials at the correct time. Apply ReTain 4 weeks before the anticipated harvest- and it's better to be early than late! Apply Fruitone-N (NAA) when the first sound apples drop (not push-offs), to hold apples for 7-10 days (allow 1-2 days to take effect). Coverage is important for both products, and moderate (20-24C) temperatures are preferred.
  
• Do you have enough bins? It takes 2000 apples of 3 1/8"(100-count) to fill a bin. To fill the same bin with 2 ¾"(138-count) fruit, it will require 2760 apples. Read more in "How to Estimate Bin Requirements: Harvesting Efficiently by Having the Right Number of Bins Ready", online.
  
• Reflective mulch may help colour fruit, especially in the interior of the trees. Growers using this mulch report that harvest labour is more efficient because most of the fruit can be picked in one pass. Read more in "Using Reflective Mulch for Light Management in Orchards", online.
  
• Be ready for traceability! Order your bin tags and assemble markers, stapler and staples, staple pullers. Prepare your daily record book to mark down what is harvested when, by who, and where is goes. Many packers are requiring these records, so it's good to get in the habit.
  
• Be ready for labour. Order your harvest labour, and ready their supplies, like boots, rain gear, insect repellants and toilet facilities. Check over picking buckets and ladders, and have extra repair parts on hand. Provide hand washing facilities and records of training.
  
• Smooth out laneways and loading ramps - rainy conditions have been hard on some of these surfaces, but it's important to prevent bruising in the bins from "rut" damage.

A few preparations now could save precious time during harvest. Good luck!