GROWERS SAY APPLE HARVEST SEASON TO BEGIN WEEKS EARLIER THAN NORMAL

It's apple-picking time in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, and the news is good for both producer and consumer.

There are plenty of apples, and the quality of the fruit this year is good, growers say.

Thanks to a mild winter, an early spring and good growing conditions, some varieties of apples have matured about 14 days earlier than normal.

In Missouri, this year's apple crop is forecast to be in excess of one million bushels, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Department spokesman Jim Anderson, a horticulture marketing specialist, says this year's apple crop looks excellent.

"This week's harvest is a couple weeks ahead of schedule for most varieties, but the crop looks great," he said.

In Southern Illinois, which produces 75 percent of the state's apple crop, growers say this year's apple crop is a good one, despite the early-summer drought.

"Considering the dry weather we had in June and July, the quality and size of the apples are pretty good," said Larry Flamm of Flamm Orchards at Cobden, Ill. "We started picking Jonathan and Golden Delicious about two weeks ago. We began picking Red Delicious apples on Wednesday." Flamm said these three varieties are the most popular.

Flamm said wholesale prices for number one grade apples will average from $10-$12 a bushel. Retail prices for a peck of top grade apples will average around $5, he said.

David Diebold, who operates Diebold's Orchard in the Benton-Kelso area of Southeast Missouri, said the cool weather earlier this month helped give the early variety apples a bright red color that consumers like to see. "A red apple is more eye-appealing, and makes it sell better," Diebold explained.

Diebold said they will begin picking in larger quantities after the first of September.

Stan Beggs, of Pioneer Orchards west of Jackson, said his orchard will begin selling "pick-your-own" apples at 30 cents a pound on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. "Be sure to bring your own box or basket," he said.

Beggs said for the first time, the orchard will also offer its finest grade apples for sale at pick-your-own prices. "These are the fine grade apples we ship to distant markets," he said. "You pick them yourself and save."

Beggs said the orchard will also offer bin apples for sale at 16 cents a pound as long as they are available. He said these include all varieties of apples that are sold by the pound from large storage bins. "It's really a nice deal. You get a good apple at a low price," he said.

After the early variety apples have been picked, the so-called "winter apples," such as Winesaps, Rome Beauty, Whetstone, and Granny Smith, will be ready to pick in the latter part of September into October. These are suitable for canning or cooking in pies.

While many of the apples grown in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois are sold locally, many more of them are sold wholesale and eventually find their way into households, restaurants and bakeries across much of the United States.

Wholesalers also sell locally grown apples to retailers in metropolitan markets like St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Louisville, Houston and many other cities.