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HARSH WINTER LEADS TO EARLIEST START FOR ENGLISH APPLE SEASON

Tesco

23 July 2009

Britain’s harshest winter in living memory followed by a
very warm spring have helped create a record for the earliest ever
arrival in stores of English apples.
Created in what producers have called near perfect growing
conditions, the crop of Discovery apples – traditionally the
season’s first – are considered high quality by
experts.
The apples have arrived more than a week earlier than the
previous record set three years ago and a good six weeks before
their traditional launch at the end of August.
On Thursday UK shoppers will taste the result when the crop goes
on sale at Tesco stores in the Sevenoaks area in Kent near to where
they were grown.
Said Tesco apple buyer David Croxson: “What for most of us
was one of the worst winters in recent memory turned out to be the
start of a perfect growing season for English apple growers.
“Considering Britain has been enjoying much milder winters
in recent years and rather inclement springs and summers,
it’s very rare to get growing conditions as good as we have
just had.
“The result is a very high quality crop of Discovery
apples – they are very crunchy, thirst-quenchingly juicy and
crisp.
“The great quality will be very good news to UK growers
because as the first apple of the season it gets shoppers primed
for the home market again and creates excitement for other
varieties later in the year.”
The apples were grown in orchards around the Sevenoaks area and
are sent directly from a local packing house to Tesco stores.
The reason why they are high quality this year is down to a
number of weather factors which started with the bitter winter.
Fruit trees require prolonged periods of cold weather to have a
rest and get ready for the coming season.
The later spring – compared to recent years – was
also good for the trees which had longer to wake up putting them in
great shape at the start of the season.
One effect of the cold weather and slow spring is that the
blossom had optimum conditions for pollination.
The prolonged warm spell in April was perfect for pollinating
insects and leading to the fruit ripening at exactly the right
time.
Added Tesco’s David Croxson: “An added bonus for
customers is a freshness guarantee with the apples – no
matter where they are bought in the UK – of being no more
than three days from being picked off the tree.”
Tesco’s apples were grown by local growers Nigel Bardsley
and Mike Butcher and were supplied by Kent marketing company Norman
Collett.
Ends
For more information please contact Mike Baess on
01992 646079
or Tesco Press Office on 01992 644645.
Note to editors:
The top 5 selling UK grown apples are as follows
1. Cox
2. Gala
3. Bramley
4. Braeburn
5. Cameo
Last year the UK produced 99,011 tonnes of apples or
approximately 594 million apples. The industry is worth about
£125 million this year but does not include the English apple
juice and cider markets.