The harvest date is crucial for the storability of ’Š ampion’ apples intended for long storage. Only apples picked at the optimum maturity stage are suitable for storage over 3 months because of better storage potential and organoleptic quality. The research was conducted in the cold storage facility and laboratory of the Department of Pomology of the Poznan University of Life Sciences between 1999 and 2006 and was designed to evaluate and determine the Streif index for ‘Š ampion. Fruits were collected every 4–5 days starting some weeks before the estimated OHD. Maturity at harvest was evaluated in terms of firmness, TSS, starch disintegration, ground colour and titrable acidity. Fruits were stored in a cold storage facility for 3 months. The storability of apples was evaluated after the equal number of days of storage respectively to their harvest date. The evaluation was based on subjective quality judgments and measurements made after storage. After eight years of study the optimal value of the Streif index for ’Š ampion’ was determined at 0.12. The Streif index method was recognized as the basis for determining the harvest date of the apple cultivar ‘Š ampion’. Too early or too late harvest brought about substantial quality and quantity losses of ‘Š ampion’ apples during storage.

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