Despite production dif culties, ORG apples had 6 to 10 N
higher esh rmness than CON, and 4 to 7 N higher than INT apples, for similar-sized
fruit. Consumer panels tended to rate ORG and INT apples to have equal or better over-
all acceptability, rmness, and texture than CON apples. Neither laboratory measure-
ments nor sensory evaluations detected differences in SSC, TA, or the SSC to TA ratio.
Consumers were unable to discern the higher concentrations of avor volatiles found in
CON apples. For a 200 g fruit, ORG apples contained 10% to 15% more TAA than CON
apples and 8% to 25% more TAA than INT apples. Across most parameters measured in
this study, the CON and INT farm management systems were more similar to each other
than either was to the ORG system. The production challenges associated with low-input
organic apple farming systems are discussed. Despite limited technologies and products
for organic apple production, the ORG apples in our study showed improvements in some
fruit quality attributes that could aid their marketability.