Bitter Pit and Soft Scald in ‘Honeycrisp' during Cold Storage

‘Honeycrisp’ apples grown in six orchards in the Hudson Valley (HV) and twelve orchards in Western New York (WNY) were harvested and stored at 3 ^oC for up to four months.  Bitter pit and soft scald incidence was assessed at monthly intervals. Minerals were analyzed from fruit peel before three weeks of harvest and at harvest.  Most bitter pit occurred in fruit from the HV, but wherever present was highest at harvest and during the first month of storage. Soft scald incidence was low, and mainly confined to WNY, but developed only after two months of storage.  High correlations were detected between bitter pit and levels of N, P, K, N/Ca, Mg, Mg+N/Ca ratio, Cu and B measured three weeks before harvest, and between bitter pit and Mg/Ca, N , Ca, and Mg+K/Ca at harvest.  In a separate experiment, fruit from two WNY orchards were stored directly at 0.5 or 3 ^oC, or after conditioning for 7 days at 10 ^oC.  The highest soft scald and soggy breakdown incidences were measured in fruit stored at 0.5 ^oC; conditioning reduced the incidence of these disorders but did not prevent them at 0.5 ^oC.  Bitter pit was generally highest in fruit stored at 3 ^oC, and especially with conditioning.  These results will be discussed in relationship to management strategies for ‘Honeycrisp’ apples.