The weather is marvelous and the fruit bud is moving fast; Victoria Plums are in full bloom, while Conference Pears are at the white bud/early blossom stage. Most apples are at the Green Cluster stage and should be showing signs of blossom by next weekend.
If the temperatures remain similar to those we have experienced recently, I anticipate full bloom by the end of April. Braeburn will be among the first, with Cox, Gala and Bramley close behind.
There are still a mix of excellent English Apples (and a few Pears) available in Supermarkets. Gala is pretty much finished, expect another week or two at Sainsburys, Braeburn should last until early May, some Kanzi and Cameo can still be found, English Jazz is coming to an end; all still deliver a good eating experience. My star buy - ENVY will last until early May.
English Conference Pears should be available in some Supermarkets until late June.
A busy week!
This week has been a busy one for The English Apple Man; On Wednesday the Marden Fruit Show Society (MFSS) held the AGM at Hadlow College. Hadlow are one of the main sponsors of the National Fruit Show and always supportive, offering the facility for the AGM and MFS in the Animal Management Lecture Theatre. MFSS Chair Sarah Calcutt organised a selection of 'high profile' presentations to follow.
Mark Suthern - Head of Agriculture at Barclays Bank with 'A Bankers view' of the sector: Guy Smith - Vice President of the National Farmers Union: - Dr Fraser Courts/Dr Paul Kroon from the Institute of Food Research - "The Myths and Realities of antioxidants" and Rachel Lawrence - Rural Business Unit, University of Cambridge presenting 'the results of the farm business survey.
I intend to cover these presentations in greater detail in future English Apple Man Journals
Before the presentations, Adrian Barlow - CEO of English Apple & Pears updated the audience with the success of the 'Love English Apples' - Promotional Campaign. Although this season has been difficult for growers financial returns due to the Russian embargo's impact on European Apple & Pear growers losing valuable export opportunities, sales of home grown English apples have been well above the previous year.
Visit the website by clicking on Love English Apples
On Thursday evening The English Apple Man attended the last of the 2014/15 BEST Group winter discussion meetings.
A very interesting evening with two entertaining speakers; one looking at the future of our top fruit industry and the other demonstrating the machinery available to fruit and grape growers.
David Pennell has many years experience in the fruit industry and now works as a self employed consultant,
David Sayell has been involved with machinery supply in the fruit sector for many years
David Pennell - Orchard Fruits - Horizons of Science
David drew on his many years of experience in the fruit sector and his close alliance with the science integral to our industry, Dealing with potential new products influencing the future of top fruit growing and particularly apples, David commented on the 'plethora' of Club (or Pseudo Club) varieties being offered as the solution to apple grower needs. He warned that while some Club varieties could be regarded as genuine with sophisticated product development and PR supporting their success, many are only 'token Club Varieties, without the support mechanism of the industry leaders.
The English Apple Man Comments: While Pink Lady is by far and away the most successful Club Variety and Jazz the second, both have enjoyed careful product and marketing development.
David is concerned that with volumes of 'home grown' Gala and Braeburn increasing and depending on stretching the UK season to avoid falling grower financial returns, he is of the opinion that 'Private Breeding' has gone 'ballistic' - the perception that finding a new Club variety offering higher prices for the grower could 'backfire' if the wrong variety is chosen. Planting a new Club variety has in the past carried a 'premium' to be paid to the breeder for each tree. David expects this to change to a 'Royalty' on the crop and not on the trees! He urged growers to be very careful when offered the 'panacea' of a new Club apple - "be sure to find out how the marketeer has planned for the variety's marketing strategy" before embarking on a large investment.
Answering a question on the increase in Canker, David said with most of the newer varieties having Gala in the parentage it is hardly surprising. The question of where the Canker comes from when a new orchard suffers from new Canker lesions is 'regularly debated' did it come from the Nursery? Did it come from the new orchard environment? There are many plausible explanations for both arguments.
David posed the question; do root-stocks 'help or hinder' and he suspects there are 'sub clinical' levels of Canker in many root-stocks and may be part of the explanation for growers suffering widely different experiences when purchasing the same variety from the same nursery just one year apart. Expanding on the necessity of a root-stock - "do we need root-stocks? Is it possible grow a variety on ts own roots?
Root-stocks are 'of course' the medium by which we regulate the growth of a variety; the global success of East Malling's programme of root-stock development supports that premise and with trees historically planted at many different spacing's that surely is a basic requirement. BUT as David pointed out with modern production systems now predominately based on very intensive single row systems, using mechanical pruning, COULD we develop a system of growing a variety on its own root system. This David feels would reduce the 'hindrance factor' of a root-stock.
David covered many interesting elements which will/may influence how our apple industry operates in the future. The ongoing reduction in pesticides available to fruit growers will make growing the quality of product 'expected' by the consumer more challenging; more Biocontrol methods will be required to combat the lack of pesticides and the use of Biostimulants will be part of managing plant health. Elicitors trigger the plant's own defence system; Silicates can help a plant build ts own physical resistance.
A better understanding of soil mechanisms in improving plant health will add to the overall health and ability of the plants to combat pest and disease.
David Pennell looked at 'Precision Orcharding' - The English Apple Man has featured elements of precision growing before, but David feels the key advantage will be gathering all the relevant data from 'combining technologies' as a central management tool.
Plant sensors 'plugged into the tree' which can send information back to a computer telling you what is happening within the plant, could be used to 'tweak' a tree.
David Sayell - Vitifruit Equipment
David Sayell has spent many years selling machinery to fruit growers in the South of England; he now supplies the ever expanding world of Viticulture in addition to fruit growers; much of the equipment can be used in both growing cultures.
Among the equipment shown a sprayer used in vineyards which captures the spray passing through the vines and recirculates it rather than leaving it in the vineyard environment.
Spreading compost made from garden waste is increasingly popular; Cultivating the soil in Organic orchards is essential for avoiding weed competition .
Strawberry production is increasingly on Table Tops under tunnels and keeping the grass under control is easily managed with this tractor/mower combination; Mechanical pruning is becoming a useful tool for top fruit growers.
That is all for this week..........
Take care
The English Apple Man