Fall - the most busy season for harvesting on storage. As for apples, autumn and winter grades go to granaries. For gardeners it is important to define correctly a maturity of fruit, will depend on it as long apples will be stored in the winter. It is possible to determine approximately moment suitable for this purpose only. Not all apples are fit for storing. If the fruit became overripe, it will long not be stored, and immature won't gain the necessary amount of sugar and necessary vitamins.
How to define an apple maturity
Each gardener has the checked recipe of a maturing test of apples. Some determine by taste, others by appearance. But there is one easiest classical way to learn about readiness of fruit for collecting. If in windless weather suddenly begin to fall down large fruits without visible signs of diseases and wormholes, then it is a signal that apples ripened.
It is possible to check ripeness and on other signs:
- If when pressing on a fruit the dent disappears, then still early to pick such apple on storage.
- The thin skin burst - fruit became overripe, it is necessary to send it for processing.
- On a surface there is a trace from pressing - apple ripened.
- Ripe fruits get coloring corresponding to a certain grade and easily separate from branches.
- Mature apple has to be juicy, sweet-sour taste. Its pulp white or cream, seeds brown.
There is more exact, than for the color and taste, a chemical method of determination of ripeness. For this purpose in 1 liter of water dissolve 1 gram of iodine and 4 grams of iodide potassium. In solution lower the apple cut in half. If in 2 minutes the cut becomes blue, means starch much and to reap a crop early. Yellow color in the center and blue at the edges means that almost all starch turned into sugar, that is there came the time of renting of fruit. Yellowing of all cut indicates that apple became overripe.
Terms of collecting different types of apples
There are two types of a maturity of fruits - removable and consumer. The first means that apples are ready to collecting. The second comes later, already at storage when fruit finally develop a characteristic taste and aroma.
Fit for storing apples are divided into two groups:
Autumn grades begin to collect slightly immature since the end of August prior to the beginning of September. A period of storage of such apples till New Year's holidays. Further they begin to spoil. The most known grades - Zhigulyovsk, Slava Pobeditelyam, original Cinnamon striped.
Winter grades the most lezhky. The harvest is reaped since the end of September to the middle of October. Such apples aren't absolutely ready-to-serve, the harvest maturity comes in about two months, then they have an interesting taste and pronounced aroma. If in time to remove late-ripening apples and to store correctly, then they can lie till next summer.
Popular Antonovka and Aport belong to early winter. Johnathan, the Athlete, Delishes, Simirenko have later terms of maturing.
Rules of collecting fruits
Despite development of modern technologies, the usual manual way of their removal from a tree remains the best method of gathering fruit.
- The basic rule - harvesting is possible only in a dry and clear weather. It is better to break apples in the afternoon when air enough gets warm. On fruits moisture shouldn't get; such apples are most of all subject to various diseases.
- It is correct to begin to remove fruits from the lower branches, gradually moving to a tree top. You shouldn't hurry and reap a crop in one day. At first break apples from South side, there they ripen quicker. And in couple of days it is possible to continue collecting from North side.
- Not to damage a thin skin, work in fabric gloves. When collecting it is impossible to shake a tree and to collect from the earth. The removed fruits should be put accurately in a container. Remove each apple with a fruit stem.
- You make thrifty use not only of fruits, but also of apple-tree branches. The broken branches lead to decrease in a harvest next year. Don't throw apples fruit drop under a tree, collect them in a separate container for processing.
What should be made for successful storage
The crop was reaped, now it is worth paying attention to its storage that your works and efforts at cultivation of apples weren't in vain.
At first we prepare a container. It is the for this purpose best of all to use ordinary wooden boxes. Some days before harvesting they are processed solution of potassium permanganate and dried up in the sun. Such procedure will protect fruits from a possible fungus which sometimes appears on wooden surfaces. Then it will be correct to cover a bottom with newspapers or the dense paper.
The reaped crop can't be held in the sun. Apples need to be touched at once, then to sort by grades and by the size at the same time fruits can't be wiped from a natural scurf at all. It is some kind of protective layer from influence of external factors.
When laying don't allow blows of apples the friend about the friend. In a box to them it shouldn't be close. It is possible to wrap up each fruit with paper.
Now it is necessary to decide on a storage place. If in storage a moisture-laden air, then around boxes it is possible to deliver to the container with lime-pushonkoy. It helps to absorb excessive moisture. If a dry air, deliver to the container with sand, periodically watering it. Air will be moistened in process of sand drying.
Important storage condition is a temperature condition. Don't allow freezing of fruit, temperature has to be from +2 to +5 degrees.
Touch apples more often and throw out what have decay that it didn't pass to sound fruits.
The tasty crop is reaped and sent for storage. Thereby you for all winter provided yourself and house with useful products.