Article written by Madeline Wimmer, UMN Extension Educator, Fruit Production
Help shape next year’s Fruit Update series!
End of season reader survey.
Apples
Article: Apple storage disorders and recommendations for four UMN varieties
Grapes
UMN Grape Field Day on September 13th!
Grape tasting table
Ask Extension table and other exhibits
Help shape next year’s Fruit Update series!
A note of thanks from the Educator,
This newsletter is one of the primary ways that you can continue to have an informative experience with the UMN Extension Fruit Production program. We hope you have enjoyed this year’s series as we start to wrap up this season’s updates and release our final 2025 Fruit Update next week.
Choosing which topics to write about takes some careful planning and often goes with current season trends and communication between growers and myself. It’s one piece of the fruit programming that happens throughout the year, in addition to field days, workshops, grower cohorts, and work that is done behind the scenes to build education through our Extension website.
While this publication cannot cover all of the topics for each fruit grower throughout Minnesota, we hope that it has given you a chance to explore and reflect on information relevant to your pursuits.
We look over the feedback received through the following survey and appreciate you, as our program would not exist without our dear readers and grower interactions. Let us know what you appreciate and what you’d like to see in the future!
Sincerely,
Madeline Wimmer, M.S.
University of Minnesota Fruit Production Educator
End-of-season survey
Complete the survey below, we want to hear from you!
Apples
Article: Apple storage disorders and recommendations for four UMN varieties
Images: An example of a larger storage facility that has the capacity to store apples using controlled atmosphere conditions where low oxygen levels increase fruit longevity (left). An apple showing symptoms of bitter pit, which can start in the orchard and worsen during storage (right).
Apple sales in Minnesota are majorly done through retail sales rather than wholesale, which means that the season for selling apples often finishes up in late fall or before the new year, making for a relatively short storage duration.
For growers who do plan to extend their sales into winter markets, proper storage becomes a bigger topic of focus. Apples that are stored for longer periods will benefit from harvesting at an earlier ripening phase based on the starch iodine test and other indicators.
Longer storage requires careful attention to aspects like how quickly the apples are cooled down and storage conditions like temperature and humidity. When the conditions aren’t right, a number of storage disorders can result, like bitter pit, soft scald, or symptoms from dehydration.
To learn more about this topic, check out this week’s article below.
Article: Apple storage disorders and recommendations for UMN varieties
Grapes
UMN Grape Field Day on September 13th!
Our annual grape field day often coincides with the start of the larger harvest season for many grape growers throughout the state. If you have time in between the harvests, we invite you to join us this year at the UMN Horticultural Research Center to engage with our UMN grape research and educator team to connect with us and learn more about grape production!
Grape tasting table
Image: A wide variety of table grapes are prepared for sampling by field day participants.
If you’re thinking about which grape varieties to grow, stopping by our grape tasting table is a great way to get a snapshot of different grape variety clusters-appearances, colors, and flavors. This year will lean into the typicity (typical traits signature to a specific grape variety), highlighting the grapes during an average growing season. Cold climate wine grapes, table grapes, and even some vinifera varieties that are rare to taste in the Midwest will be available for sampling.
Ask Extension table and other exhibits
Still planning which style of trellis or training system to use for your vineyard? Have questions about pruning? Check out our Extension table as a practical way to connect and learn more about topics relevant to your vineyard.
Additional support during this day include Drew Horton, our UMN Winemaker, Soon Li Teh, leader of the grape breeding and research program, John Thull and the vineyard crew, along with graduate students with their own unique research.
This event is free, with no registration required!
Thank you to our farm and ag professional partners for contributions to the UMN Fruit Update series. Non-credited photos in this article were either taken by Madeline Wimmer or within the UMN Extension system.
This article may be shared for educational purposes with attribution to the University of Minnesota Extension. For other uses, please contact UMN Extension for permission.
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