09/21/05 Apple harvest by variety, Part two

The 2005 Washington State apple crop projections were lowered from around ninety-five million boxes to near ninety million. According to field man and crop consultant Nick Stephens, even though there are still many newer varieties making an impact in the marketplace and around the apple industry, the size of the crop still has its base measurement in the flagship variety. STEPHENS: One of the primary reasons that the crop estimate was adjusted down was because that Reds bloomed light and in fact the crop is looking like it might pick out even lighter than it previously estimated. Stephens says projections have Red Delicious down seven to eight million boxes from the previous year. But like other varieties with smaller quantity in this year's crop, the quality has not been impacted that greatly. STEPHENS: Apple size looks good in the Upper Columbia Basin & Quincy, Royal City. Size is looking good. Color is really coming along excellent. I'm really pleased with the color development on Reds and we'll be getting into harvest very soon here. And the quality so far on Reds looks good and with the crop size down, maybe Reds will be worth something this year. And Stephens hits on a key point. With many growers leaving Red Delicious for newer, and more profitable varieties, those that remain could receive economic benefits with this year's crop thanks to the smaller quantities. In our next program, a look at other mid to late fall apple varieties.