Fruit

The #GetFairAboutFarming campaign is encouraging the leading ‘Big Six’ supermarkets to adopt fairer principles for farmers – as research shows 49% of fruit and veg farmers fear closure within 12 months.

Senior agronomists have announced that this year’s blackberry season has produced a very high-quality crop, sweeter and larger than their hedgerow counterparts. The work of UK growers has ensured a strong harvest this year, ensuring availability of blackberries through to November, with peak production now underway.

The wettest July since 2009 was a major concern for UK berry growers – blueberries are particularly sensitive to overly wet conditions. However, agronomists are delighted with how the crop has grown and stood up to the unseasonably wet weather – and they say that this is in large part thanks to bumblebees.

British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL), the UK top fruit grower association, has announced an expansion of its existing Farming Innovation Pathways feasibility project to analyse the impact of British apples on the environment. The project is called: Supporting top fruits journey to Net Zero.

Preserving harvest quality in stored fruit has long been the focus for many growers, but with margins under strain from higher costs, the need to maximise returns has arguably never been greater. Fruit & Vine gets some expert advice on ensuring storage success.

An 8 percent drop in strawberry plants for 2024, with an estimated 18 million fewer strawberry punnets on supermarket shelves, signals the urgent need for fairer returns for British fruit growers.

With National Blueberry Day just around the corner, acclaimed nutritionist Rob Hobson highlighted the wide-ranging health benefits of eating fresh blueberries, including improved memory, concentration and overall brain health.

Hortifeeds agronomist, Mike Wainwright, provides some advice that growers can easily incorporate into current growing practices to reduce summer heat stress.

Monday 2nd October 2023 will mark the start of the new British apple season and UK growers say that while it may not be a bumper crop, the taste and flavour of the new season fruit is excellent.

Challenger wonky and surplus food brand Earth & Wheat has declared ‘war on fruit waste’ and entered the market with a new Variety Fruit Box.

The berry industry has for the first time taken the unprecedented step of calling out retailers who don’t support British berries amidst huge concerns over the viability of the industry with an 8% drop in crops forecast for 2024 as retailers squeeze growers on price.

NIAB is hosting a ‘Vine and Wine Discovery Day’ at its East Malling site in Kent, exclusively for UK grape growers and winemakers.