+33 680 38 14 46
Hail batters English crop
United Kingdom
Wednesday 25 July 2007
Hailstorms and heavy rain swept across much of Kent at the weekend causing extensive damage to the English apple crop.
Some individual growers lost entire orchards, while others escaped unscathed. “We lost a whole farm of Braeburn, about 70 acres completely gone,” said Paul Mansfield of FW Mansfield. “Other than that we have lost about 100 acres to hail overall – about 10 per cent of our top fruit, but we will definitely still be able to meet programmes.” He estimated that about five per cent of the firm’s Gala crop had been damaged in the hailstorms, that were so fierce they dented cars and cracked windscreens.
Adrian Barlow of English Apples & Pears, who last week forecast a 20 per cent increase in the English apple crop this year, is now estimating that figure will fall. “The hail has been unprecedented,” said Barlow. “Some parts of Kent have been hit on four separate occasions. It will reduce the final crop, but without underplaying the significance and the tragedy for individual growers, we must be careful not to exaggerate the effects. These losses are against a background of a crop that was 20 per cent higher than last year. At the most, 15 per cent of the crop might be lost but that would still leave us with a crop five per cent up on last year.”
Damage to plums has so far not been reported, and agronomists are hopeful that because plums are generally less exposed to the elements, damage will not be extensive. In several cases, cherry crops that had already begun to suffer splitting have been further damaged by the hail.
Some individual growers lost entire orchards, while others escaped unscathed. “We lost a whole farm of Braeburn, about 70 acres completely gone,” said Paul Mansfield of FW Mansfield. “Other than that we have lost about 100 acres to hail overall – about 10 per cent of our top fruit, but we will definitely still be able to meet programmes.” He estimated that about five per cent of the firm’s Gala crop had been damaged in the hailstorms, that were so fierce they dented cars and cracked windscreens.
Adrian Barlow of English Apples & Pears, who last week forecast a 20 per cent increase in the English apple crop this year, is now estimating that figure will fall. “The hail has been unprecedented,” said Barlow. “Some parts of Kent have been hit on four separate occasions. It will reduce the final crop, but without underplaying the significance and the tragedy for individual growers, we must be careful not to exaggerate the effects. These losses are against a background of a crop that was 20 per cent higher than last year. At the most, 15 per cent of the crop might be lost but that would still leave us with a crop five per cent up on last year.”
Damage to plums has so far not been reported, and agronomists are hopeful that because plums are generally less exposed to the elements, damage will not be extensive. In several cases, cherry crops that had already begun to suffer splitting have been further damaged by the hail.
