Resources and Publications

Journals

• Costs and Profitability for Mechanized Pruning and Harvest in Two Cider Apple Orchard Systems. Galinato, S., A. Kendall, and C. Miles. 2022. HortTechnology 32: 275-287.
• Summer Mechanical Hedging to Prune Eight Cider Apple Cultivars. Kendall, A., T. Alexander, G. LaHue, and C. Miles. 2022. HortTechnology 32: 313-320.
• Reduced irrigation conserves water and maintains yield for three cider apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars. Kendall, A., C.A. Miles, T.R. Alexander, E. Scheenstra, and G.T. LaHue. 2022. HortTech, 57(1):118-125. https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/57/1/article-p118.xml
• Growing apples for hard cider production in the U.S. – trends and research opportunities. Miles, C. A., T. R. Alexander, G. Peck, S. P. Galinato, C. Gottschalk, and S. van Nocker. 2020. HortTechnology 30:148-155.
• Comparison of the Phenolic Profiles of Juice and Cider Derived from Machine- and Hand-harvested ‘Brown Snout’ Cider Apple (Malus domestica sp.) in Northwest Washington. Alexander, T.R., T.S. Collins, and C.A. Miles. 2019. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 18-3385:under review.
• A review of Neofabraea malicorticis biology and management of anthracnose canker in apple orchards in the maritime Pacific Northwest, Garton, Whitney J., Lisa W. DeVetter, Mark Mazzola, and Carol A. Miles. 2018. J. Amer. Pomol. Soc.72(2):113-121.
• Efficacy of Excision, Cauterization, and Fungicides for Management of Apple Anthracnose Canker in Maritime Climate. Garton, W.J., M. Mazzola, T.R. Alexander and C.A. Miles. 2018. HortTechnology 28(6):728-736.
• Efficacy of Fungicide Treatments for Control of Anthracnose Canker in Young Cider Apple Trees in Western Washington. Garton, W.J., M. Mazzola, N. Dasgupta , T.R. Alexander and C.A. Miles. 2018.  HortTechnology 30(1):in press.
• Sensory Comparison of Ciders Produced from Machine- and Hand-harvested ‘Brown Snout’ Specialty Cider Apples Stored at Ambient Conditions in Northwest Washington. Alexander, T.R, C.F. Ross, E.A. Walsh, and C.A. Miles. 2017. HortTechnology 28(1):35-43.
• Evaluation of flower, fruit, and juice characteristics of a multinational collection of cider apple cultivars grown in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Miles, C., J. King, T.R. Alexander and E. Scheenstra. 2017. HortTechnology 27(3):431-439.
• Regional variation in juice quality characteristics of four cider apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) cultivars in northwest and central Washington. (PDF), Alexander, T.R., J. King, A. Zimmerman, and C.A. Miles. 2016. HortScience 51(12):1498-1502.
• Yield, fruit damage, yield loss and juice quality characteristics of machine and hand harvested ‘Brown Snout’ specialty cider apple stored at ambient conditions in northwest WA. Alexander, T.R., J. King, E. Scheenstra, and C.A. Miles. 2016. HortTechnology 26(5):614-619.
• Yield, labor, and fruit and juice quality characteristics of machine and hand-harvested ‘Brown Snout’ specialty cider apple. Miles, C.A. and J. King. 2014. HortTechnology 24(5):519-526.
• WSU Mount Vernon NWREC Annual Report 2011:  Hard Cider. Annual report on the first trial of mechanical harvest at WSU Mount Vernon (PDF). Miles, C.A.,  J. Roozen, A. Zimmerman, K. Hasenoehrl, and J. King. 2011.

Extension

• Establishing a Cider Apple Orchard for Mechanized Management EM117E. Alexander, T.R., E. Scheenstra, J. King, S. Musacchi, C. Miles, and S. Brawner. 2023. WSU Extension Publication.
• Fully Experiencing Cider: A Manual for Sensory Evaluation of Cider. Alexander, T.R. and B. Ewing, 2018. WSU Extension Publication: in progress
• Anthracnose Canker Integrated Management Plan for Home Gardeners (PDF, FS297E, 2018), Information to manage anthracnose canker in the home garden or orchard in western Washington, where this disease can severely limit yield and in some cases leads to tree death.
• Anthracnose Canker Management for Commercial Apple Orchards in Western Washington (PDF, FS295E, 2018), Information for managing anthracnose canker, a major disease limiting apple production in western Washington, western British Columbia, and the Columbia Gorge.
• 2015 Cost Estimates of Establishing and Producing Specialty Cider Apples in Central Washington, Extension Fact Sheet TB35 (11/2016). If you’re thinking of producing cider apples in central Washington, this publication will enable you to estimate costs of equipment, materials, supplies, and labor and also provides ranges of price and yield. This publication also helps you evaluate the feasibility and profitability of producing specialty cider apples in the region. An Excel spreadsheet version of this enterprise budget is available at the WSU School of Economic Sciences Extension website.
• Feasibility of Different Harvest Methods for Cider Apples: Case Study for Western Washington (PDF), WSU Extension publication TB32. The results presented in this publication serve as a general guide for evaluating the economic feasibility of hand and mechanical harvest methods for cider apples grown in western Washington as of 2015.
  • Appendix A: Hand Harvest Cider Apples. Excel – interactive spreadsheet.
  • Appendix B: Mechanical Harvest Cider Apples. Excel – interactive spreadsheet.
• 2013 Cost Estimation of Establishing a Cider Apple Orchard in Western Washington (PDF), Extension Fact Sheet FS141E (09/2014). The study results presented in this WSU fact sheet can serve as a general guide for evaluating the feasibility of establishing and producing cider apples in western Washington as of 2013. In addition to the publication an Excel worksheet (ZIP) is available.
• Hard Cider Production and Orchard Management in the Pacific Northwest (PNW621, 2010), New basic manual for hard cider making, based on variety evaluations and cider trials at WSU Mount Vernon NWREC.

Extension Videos

• Cider Apple Production and Research in Western WA
• Mechanical Cider Apple Orchard Hedging
• Mechanical Cider Apple Orchard Harvest

Fact Sheets

• Cider apple bloom and productivity habit (PDF), C. Miles, T. Alexander, and J. King (2018).
• Evaluation of Varietal Ciders Produced at WSU Mount Vernon NWREC (PDF), A. Zimmerman, J. King, E. Scheenstra, and C. Miles (2016).
• Yield and Labor Time for Mechanical and Hand Harvested Cider Apples (PDF, 2016), C. Miles, T. Alexander, and S. Galinato, Department of Horticulture, Washington State University Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, Mount Vernon, WA; IMPACT Center, School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.
• Commonly Grown Cider Apple Cultivars In the U.S. (PDF, 2015) Twenty of the most common cider apple cultivars planted in cider orchards in different regions of the U.S. are listed. Information was collected from growers and researchers at 12 locations throughout the U.S.

Additional Resources

• Northwest Cider Association’s Cidermaker’s Toolkit.

Apple Cultivar Identification

• Myfruittree
• FruitID (database from the British Isles)