About
The main apple harvest comes in late summer and autumn. A single orchard often holds cultivars that ripen at different times, so picking can stretch over several weeks. Part of the crop goes into storage, so apples stay on the market through winter as well.
Fresh harvest season
An orientation window for local open-field harvest in the regions already documented in the atlas — not retail, import, or storage availability.
Atlas regions summary: August 10 – October 20
Regions with data: Voronezh OblastMoscow OblastLeningrad Oblast
By region
| Region | Season | Peak | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voronezh Oblast | August 10 – October 20 | — | Approximate |
| Moscow Oblast | August 15 – October 15 | — | Approximate |
| Leningrad Oblast | August 15 – October 10 | — | Approximate |
In the kitchen
Fresh apples are eaten as they are, baked, and used in pastry, compote and meat sauces. Flavour and texture vary noticeably from one cultivar to another.
Seasonality by region
Leningrad Oblast(RU-LEN)
Season: August – October; Beginning; Active; Ending BeginningActiveEnding
- Season
- August 15 – October 10
- Confidence
- Approximate
Evidence
Agro-committee report of 25 August 2025: 1 tonne of apples already picked (25 tonnes to the same date in 2024). The source has no start, peak or end — bounds are editorial. 1 tonne is a progress snapshot, not a season definition. No explicit peak: available sources do not justify a narrower window without false precision.
Sources
Field report 25 August 2025 — fruit and berries, including apples
Committee for Agro-Industrial and Fisheries Complex of Leningrad Oblast
Report of 25 August 2025: 380 tonnes of fruit and berries collected, including 1 tonne of apples (25 tonnes of apples to the same date in 2024). Confirms apple picking was already underway by 25 August. Does not give start or end of the apple season.
Moscow Oblast(RU-MOS)
Season: August – October; Beginning; Active; Ending BeginningActiveEnding
- Season
- August 15 – October 15
- Confidence
- Approximate
Evidence
Moscow Oblast 2024 ministry results (AgroXXI): more than 1.9 thousand tonnes of fruit and berries, with no apple calendar. Dates are an editorial summer–autumn orchard window. Storage and imports are out of scope. 1.9 thousand tonnes is all fruit and berries, not apples only. No explicit peak: available sources do not justify a narrower window without false precision.
Sources
Moscow Oblast 2024 harvest results (AgroXXI citing the regional agriculture ministry)
AgroXXI / Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Moscow Oblast
Ministry results republished 26 December 2024: about 240 thousand tonnes of open-field vegetables, dominated by cabbage, carrot and beetroot; more than 1.9 thousand tonnes of fruit and berries. Greenhouse tomatoes/cucumbers are listed separately (protected ground) and are out of open-field season scope. No beetroot- or apple-specific harvest calendar.
Voronezh Oblast(RU-VOR)
Season: August – October; Beginning; Active; Ending BeginningActiveEnding
- Season
- August 10 – October 20
- Confidence
- Approximate
Evidence
Voronezh agriculture ministry (via Abireg, March 2024): oblast in the top five for fruit and berries; Ostrogzhsksadpitomnik harvested 26 thousand tonnes of apples in 2023. No picking calendar — bounds are editorial for a warmer Black-Earth orchard. The 2024 frost is a year shock, not a reason to omit a typical season. Post-harvest storage is not modelled. No explicit peak: available sources do not justify a narrower window without false precision.
Sources
Voronezh Oblast among top five fruit and berry producers (15 March 2024)
Abireg / Ministry of Agriculture of Voronezh Oblast
15 March 2024: the Russian agriculture ministry ranked the oblast in the top five for fruit and berries; 166 thousand tonnes in 2023 (141.7 thousand in 2022). Ostrogzhsksadpitomnik harvested 26 thousand tonnes of apples. No harvest calendar. 2024 frost losses are not this source.
