Following a long, cold spring, English apple growers are experiencing their latest season since 1985.

Favorable weather since June has provided some damage control, however, and kept the crop on par with 2011 at about 115,000 tons, explained Adrian Barlow, chief executive officer of English Apples and Pears Ltd.

"It was the coldest spring for 50 years. Spring typically lasts from March 1 to May 31. But the cold weather continued during the first three weeks of June. The results affected fruit growth. There was a considerable amount of developing fruit that fell off the trees because the trees were under stress due to weather," he told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"The result is we have a crop which is at the latest season since 1985. It’s two and a half weeks later than last year, which in turn was two and half weeks later than 2011."

Although the English industry had hoped to surpass 2011's output, Barlow said growers are pleased to have recovered from last season, which saw a 25% decline due to harsh summer weather.

"We would have liked the crop to be a little bit larger than it is but on the other hand, it’s good that we’ve had a recovery from the low crop we had last year," he said.

He added that despite smaller sizes this year, British consumers should expect high-quality fruit.

"The apples are very good looking because the cold nights we had recently have put very good color on the apples. Sugar levels are good and texture is very crunchy with lots of juice. So we have a crop which is going to look very good to consumers and have very good eating quality," he said.

The top two English apple varieties, Gala and Braeburn, will also come out ahead, despite the adverse weather. With the support of new plantations, the varieties could experience a record season for volume, Barlow said.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Sven Teschke

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