2025 Storage Meeting Take Home Messages

Posted on by mrb254

2025 Storage Meeting Take Home Messages

Chris Watkins, Yosef Al Shoffe, Craig Kahlke, and Mike Basedow

The 2025 Cornell Apple Storage Meeting was held in Geneva on August 19th. Below are some of the main storage suggestions for a few of the varieties discussed during the meeting.

Honeycrisp

  • Condition fruit at 50⁰F for 7 days. However, if fruit have high bitter pit potential based on peel sap or passive prediction tools, a strategy to reduces losses is to not condition the fruit, but keep them at 38⁰F for a month to allow bitter pit to be expressed before marketing.
  • Storage at 38⁰F
  • CA storage in 2-3% oxygen and 2% carbon dioxide has provided consistently good storage outcomes.
  • Many storage operators use DPA treatment as it protects fruit against carbon dioxide injury.
  • If DPA is not used, a delay of 3-4 weeks in air storage before CA, and /or maintaining carbon dioxide concentrations below 1% (and preferably close to 0.5%) is necessary. Concern about carbon dioxide is greatly reduced if fruit are treated with DPA.

Gala

  • PGRs applied at the correct time are critical for long term storage of Gala apples.
  • Store Gala at 38°F.
  • Postharvest 1-MCP recommended.
  • DCA 0.5% oxygen (0.5-2% carbon dioxide) recommended for long term storage.
  • CA: 2% oxygen (1% carbon dioxide).

NY-1

  • Storage recommendations of NY1 are still unclear despite several years of research. However, maturity is a significant factor and we encourage harvest before fruit coloration is dark red. ReTain application has reduced, but not totally controlled, browning disorders in statewide trials. Therefore, PGR usage is encouraged.
  • Conditioning can reduce browning incidence but not consistently.
  • DCA at 38°F is not recommended because while it maintains quality factors such as firmness, it can induce physiological disorders compared with CA. However, storage in DCA at 42°F in a limited trial was highly successful and validation of these findings are in progress.

MAIA-1 ‘Evercrisp’

  • The recommended storage temperature is 38⁰F.
  • 1-MCP enhances internal browning development, especially brown core.
  • Delayed storage in air followed DCA shows promise in reducing browning disorders.
  • Watercore increases with advancing fruit maturity and maybe associated with greater flesh browning in long term storage.
  • Rootstock impacts watercore development.

Cripps Pink/ Pink Lady

  • 38°F apple.
  • 1-MCP in CA.
  • DCA.

R10-45 ‘WildTwist’

  • CA at 38°F for short term storage, with effects of 1-MCP being inconsistent under these conditions
  • Browning injuries can be high in fruit stored at 33°F, and injury is exacerbated by 1-MCP treatment.
  • DCA at 38°F looks promising for long term storage.

Ambrosia

  • A 33°F apple with best results in DCA (for 9 months storage).
  • Too soft at 38°F regardless of CA/DCA storage.
  • Higher acidity and better green background retention at 33°F in DCA.
  • In general, 33°F in DCA results in the lowest incidences of:
    • SEFB
    • FB
    • Brown core
    • Cavities
    • Splitting
    • Soft scald