Why Do Apples Rot Inside Before They Fall?
Some apples cultivars (Malus domestica spp.) Ripen and deteriorate on the tree before they drop, although other cultivars fall before they ripen. If your apple cultivar is one that does not drop easily, you need to examine it for ripeness so that you can pick it in its prime. The important thing is knowing how apples ripen.
How Apples Ripen
Apple tree leaves “breathe” through pores, called stomata. In the process of photosynthesis, they absorb sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and from those, create starches they store from the apples. Apples have similar pores in their skins. As apples ripen, they release a concentrated burst of ethylene, a plant hormone, that changes starch to sugar in their cores outward. Fully ripe apples perish and fast soften.
Ripe Apples That Don’t Drop
The ethylene released by ripening apples also calculates a layer of cells at the conclusion of the stem, separating the apples in the tree. Apple cultivars including “Gravenstein” (Malus domestica “Gravenstein”) that grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4a through 8b and “Spartan” (Malus domestica “Spartan,” USDA zones 3a through 8b) possess weak stem cells, inducing the apples to drop before they’re fully ripe. In other apple varieties, including “Akane” (Malus domestica “Akane,” USDA 4b through 8b) and “Gala” (Malus domestica “Gala,” USDA zones 4b via 8b) a powerful bond of the stem cells triggers the apples to remain on the tree long after they’re fully ripe.
How to Assess Apple Ripeness
You can purchase a tincture of iodine in many drugstores. Pour the contents of a 1-ounce bottle into a 1-pint spray bottle and fill it with water. The solution is toxic, so tag it, wrap it in aluminum foil to prevent light, and store it away from children. Slice an apple in half an hour in its widest point. Taste one half of the apple and spray on the iodine solution on the opposite half. The iodine solution will soften the starch of unripe apples but not the sugar of ripe apples. An unripe, immature apple will have sugar in the core, surrounded by oats. If you would like to store apples, pick them if one-half to three-quarters of a cross department has turned to sugar. In case the entire cross section has turned to sugar, the apples are ripe and you ought to pick and eat them. If your apple cultivar is one that will stubbornly remain on the tree after it turns ripe, then it will gradually start to decay.
Caution
Eating or drinking tincture of iodine can cause a range of symptoms. If you believe it has been accidentally ingested, call a medical practitioner or the national poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Poison specialists at the National Institutes of Health maintain this hotline 24/7.