United Apple projects great Eastern, challenging Northwest seasons  

Lyndonville, N.Y.-based United Apple Sales is experiencing extremes: A great Northeast U.S. growing season so far, and a severely hot Northwest U.S. growing season.

A third-generation apple grower in western New York, Brett Baker said he’s excited about a very strong northeastern crop after last year’s season that experienced some stress from drought.

“We had a good spring and solid summer with ample rain and consistent sunshine. The eastern region has not suffered from the extreme heat that has affected the upper Northwest. Trees have good foliage and are loaded with fruit,” Baker, corporate vice president and co-owner, said in the release.

The company’s mainline varietals — fuji, gala, ginger golds and mcintosh — are showing a good balance between more volume and bigger sizing, he said.

Club variety orchards for EverCrisp, RubyFrost and SnapDragon are maturing and producing more fruit with the preferred sizing for retail trays ranging from 72 to 88 count. This complements the volume of smaller fruit used for bagging programs.

Picking for early varietals is on track with paula red and ginger golds starting in mid-August. Gala and mcintosh will start in early September; honeycrisp will begin in mid-September; and fuji will start picking in late September.

Despite unprecedented heat affecting cherries, apples and pears in the Pacific Northwest, the apple harvest schedule and volume may not be too bad, said Josh Tunstall, United Apple’s vice president of West Coast operations.

But by the second week of August, it was too early to assess the conditions of the full crop, he said in the release.

“In my 16 years in the produce business, my experience is that each year has its own characteristics and unique conditions, and 2021 will be no different,” Tunstall said in the release. “There will be some challenges but no real significant changes to the harvest schedule, as early gala started in late July, and honeycrisp and other varieties will be ready in late August and early September.”

The current projection is that the Washington volume will be greater in 2021, with 130 million cases versus the 118 million cases of 2020.

“With our diverse grower base, we are confident that we will have the volume of both conventional and organic varieties to fully support our retail partners, with the quality of fruit that Washington is known for,” Tunstall said in the release.