BOSTON (AP) — The summer may have turned out a bit cooler and wetter than hoped for, but as autumn approaches that may be the very reason New Englanders will be asking: “How ’bout them apples?”

Apple picking season usually starts in earnest on the weekend after Labor Day and growers are anticipating a bountiful harvest, even if some official forecasts point to a slight drop in the region’s total yield compared to a year ago.

On the question of size, however, there is little disagreement.

“The apples are going to be nice and big and real juicy because of all the rain we had,” said Julie Martin-Sullivan, co-owner of Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Mass.

“The apples are going to be huge this year, no question about it,” agrees Peter Wagner, whose family owns Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls, N.H.

And just how big is big?

Wagner said while a baseball-sized apple is generally considered big by industry standards, he expects many more apples to approach the size of a softball.

“When the apples are three inches in diameter or bigger, that’s considered pretty big,” said Jon Clements, a fruit specialist at the University of Massachusetts Extension. “I’ve been seeing apples up around three and a quarter inches, both McIntosh and Honeycrisp.”

But while the early summer rains fattened the fruit, that was only part of the story. Growers also benefited from a late summer spurt of sunny days that made the apples sweeter, and cool nights that made them redder.

“We’ve had very good sun the last few weeks and that’s allowing the sugar content to rise in the apples as well as cool nights that are helping color the fruit,” said Bill Suhr, who hopes to exceed last year’s record crop at Champlain Orchards in Shoreham, Vt.

The New England Apple Association says while there will certainly be no shortage of crisp, juicy apples to choose from this fall, the region’s total harvest is likely to be smaller in 2009 than in 2008.

The group estimates this year’s apple crop at slightly more than 4 million 42-pound boxes, about 10 percent below last year, but slightly above the five-year average of 3.86 million boxes.

The group cited a couple of factors in its forecast, including scattered hail damage from early-season thunderstorms and the closing of Woodmont Orchards in Londonderry, N.H., once that state’s largest grower, because its owners are retiring. New Hampshire’s total apple crop is expected to be off 23 percent from last year.

A crop production forecast released in mid-August by the U.S. Department of Agriculture also projected a drop in commercial apple production in the six New England states.

Massachusetts, for example, was projected at 39.5 million pounds, down from 41.0 million pounds in 2008. Vermont, which led the region with 44.0 million pounds of apple production in 2008, was forecast to drop to 40.0 pounds in 2009.

Clements said his observations over the past couple of weeks have led him to be more optimistic about the crop in Massachusetts.

“The rain has caused the fruit to be big, and that’s going to contribute to yield,” he said. “When the fruit is large it makes a difference – it adds up.”

The rain, Clements said, was a blessing for many smaller orchards that do not have their own irrigation systems and rely solely on Mother Nature for moisture.

Owners of farms that stake their hopes on pick-your-own business aren’t worrying much about crop forecasts, but will be keeping a wary eye on weekend weather forecasts, hoping for the kind of crisp, cool New England autumn days that bring out customers not only for apple-picking, but hay rides and other family-oriented activities.

John Burns, general manager of Belkin Lookout Farm in Natick, Mass., expects his apple yield to be 15 to 20 percent higher than a year ago, in part because an early bloom that speeded up the ripening process.

“I would tell you that in my view we are probably 10 days to two weeks ahead of where we would be in a normal year,” said Burns. Lookout Farm started allowing customers to pick early-season varieties, such as Ginger Gold, on Aug. 8, he said.

Emily Bontatibus, age 5, of Topsham, reaches high for an apple while picking at an orchard in Sabattus on Friday, September 11. Apple growers around the state claim that the picking is plentiful this year.

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