Hops · five stages described by IUNG

A big cone? Not yet a harvest date.

A diagram of a single cone in five stages: the two outer stages have no close-up, and in the three middle stages the close-up point is the same. From stage 03 the cone’s size in the drawing does not change, so the stages are told apart only by the features in the description. There are no dates, photographs or grower’s voice here — only the stages of the methodology and a diagram.

Diagram of a hop cone and a close-up of one point Stage 03, Maximum size: diagram of a cone at full size. On the left the whole diagram, on the right a round close-up of the same point, or a hatched area when there is no point.
03

Maximum size

Datenone — this is a stage of the methodology, not a visit on a particular day

Statusdiagram of a cone at full size · drawing: the author’s model · stage description: paraphrase from V2, to be checked against IUNG

Full size, still soft.

From the drawing
The largest size in the drawing. It looks the same as stage 04: the colour of the scales is identical, because screen colour is not an indicator of ripeness. The glands in the close-up are only outlined — their colour is not described in the material.
From the IUNG methodology
The methodology describes the cones reaching their maximum size while remaining soft. Size is not enough to recognise technological ripeness.
From the host
No statement. We have no authorised remark from the grower, so the page does not suggest when to harvest.
What it does not settle
It does not settle whether the bracts are closed, what the lupulin is like or what the aroma is. Size alone is not a criterion.
  • Dashed circle (stages 02–04): the same point on the cone. The circle scales together with the cone, while the close-up is a diagram of fixed size, so the magnification is not constant (greater at stage 02 than at 03 and 04). The close-up carries no scale and no count of glands.
  • Outline only of a gland or contour: neither its colour nor its shape is described in the material provided.
  • Gold: yellow-gold lupulin — the only colour in the drawing that means anything (IUNG description, stage 04).
  • Hatched area: there is no cone or no point to look at. This means no data, not zero.

Stage 03 of 5: Maximum size

One feature, five stages at once

What distinguishes stage 03 from 04?

Choose which feature you are reading. All five stages change at once, so you can see a difference that switching a single drawing would not show: size stops changing after stage 03, and the three IUNG criteria are described only for stage 04.

  1. Stage 01: FloweringSmallest in the drawing (illustrative proportion, not a measurement).
  2. Stage 02: Cone developmentGrowing: the stage before full size is reached (IUNG).
  3. Stage 03: Maximum sizeMaximum size, cones still soft (IUNG).
  4. Stage 04: Harvest ripenessNo description of further growth; the drawing keeps the size from stage 03 (an assumption of the drawing).
  5. Stage 05: DormancyDoes not apply to the cone: the IUNG description speaks of the die-back of shoots and leaves.

From stage 03 the bar does not get longer: size alone does not let you tell stage 03 from 04. Click the other features to see what does.

For size, the length of the bar is the illustrative size in the drawing, not a measurement. Dashed bar: the material provided has no description of this feature, or the feature does not apply to the stage — this does not mean the feature is absent. Full gold bar: a feature described in the material.

Explanation

Who is speaking: the image, the methodology or the host?

Every claim on this page comes from one of three places. The third is empty and stays that way.

From the image

our drawing · the author’s model, not a photograph

  • the relative size and shape of the cone (illustrative)
  • that the close-up point is the same at stages 02–04
  • the gold glands of stage 04 as an illustration of the IUNG description

From the drawing you cannot read: ripeness, timing, variety, aroma or actual size in centimetres. The colour of the scales is the same at all stages.

From the methodology

IUNG · paraphrase from V2, to be checked against the PDF

01 Flowering
IUNG separates flowering from the later development of the cones. The state of the inflorescences describes a stage of development, without assigning a universal date to a whole plantation.
02 Cone development
The inflorescences gradually turn into cones. This is a stage of development before full size and ripeness are reached.
03 Maximum size
The cones reach their maximum size but remain soft. Size is not enough to recognise technological ripeness.
04 Harvest ripeness
Closed bracts, yellow-gold lupulin and full hop aroma. These are the features described for harvest ripeness, not an assessment of a particular plantation.
05 Dormancy
Die-back of the above-ground shoots and leaves. A winter landscape shows the structure of the hop garden, not ripening cones.

From the host

authorised statement from the grower · none

A short remark from the host on the day of the inspection would go here. We have no such statement, so we do not invent a substitute quotation or a “report from the field”.

Identifying the variety, describing the phases and the date of the decision require confirmation by the host and proper consultation.

What to ask the host

  1. Which varieties grow on the plantation — aroma or bitter ones?
  2. How does the host judge whether the cones are ready for harvest, and when does the host plan to harvest? The decision is the host’s.
  3. May I approach the shoots and touch a cone? Do not touch the plants without the host’s permission.

WIJHARS report · 2024/2025 season

A county is a lead, not an entry to the field.

The WIJHARS Lublin producers’ report (published 8 August 2025, according to the V2 description) shows the largest hop-growing area in three counties of Lublin Voivodeship and separates two groups of varieties.

Aroma varieties

A group singled out in the producers’ statistics. The material provided has no analytical parameters and no harvest dates.

Area: no figures in the material — this is not zero.

Question for the grower: which aroma varieties grow on the plantation, and how does the host judge whether the cones are ready for harvest?

Bitter varieties

The second group singled out in the same statistics. The material provided has no acid breakdown and no dates of field work.

Area: no figures in the material — this is not zero.

Question for the grower: which bitter varieties are grown, and when does the host plan work in the field?

This is a lead for a conversation, not a list of plantations open to visitors; no partners or sightseeing loops have been chosen. The material contains no schedules or visiting calendars. Do not enter the field or touch the plants without the host’s permission.