Tag Archives: top fruit

Univeg announce joint venture with Bardsley Farms

Leading top fruit grower Bardsley Farms and UNIVEG UK, part of Belgium-based Greenyard Foods, have formed a new joint venture.

Farming 420 acres of orchards, Bardsley Farms has a number of long term relationships in the industry, including supplying Tesco for over 25 years. The new, formal tie-up with UNIVEG UK follows strategic collaboration over the last two years.

“It is clear that Bardsley Farms and UNIVEG’s aspirations for the market are aligned to the point where putting together a Joint Venture was the next logical step”, said Alan Forrester, UNIVEG UK’s Joint Managing Director.

Nigel Bardsley, chairman of the new Joint Venture, commented, “With the changing nature of the UK top fruit market it makes total sense to pull together the two businesses, where not only is the thinking aligned, but the strengths of the two businesses will deliver a model which is unseen in the market place to date.”

Ben Bardsley, Managing Director of the Joint Venture added, “UNIVEG has already demonstrated their willingness to share with all of the growers the opportunity to be involved in the innovation and varietal development that sits both in their UK trial orchards but also in the breeder relationship we and the wider UNIVEG grower base have access to across the globe.

“The first stage of the £6 million, 5-year investment program in Bardsley Farms is nearing completion, and will be up and running for the upcoming 2016 UK top fruit season. We have invested in world leading grading and packing technology that not only delivers vitally important efficiencies, but allows us to target customer products that best fits the fruit, and by managing quality.”

Photo Caption: Ben & Nigel Bardsley.

Photo Credit: Bardsley Farms

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Increasing earwigs in orchard for IPM

A new research project by the Dutch fruit growers association (NFO) and Wageningen UR aims to investigate why some orchards have lots of the invertebrates while others have far fewer.

“Apple and pear farmers obviously want lots of earwigs in their orchards,” says Herman Helsen, entomologist and leader of the project. “They are extremely useful against problems such as the woolly apple aphid and pear psylla.”

The earwig is one of the few insects that provides parental care. In autumn the adult insects go into the soil to overwinter. In the early spring they build an underground nest where the female protects and cares for the eggs. Once the young have reached the third ‘nymph stage’, they head into the plants, where they feed on insects, fungi or algae.

However, Herman explains that it is not currently known what the youngest earwigs eat in the nest. DNA analysis of stomach contents will be used to answer this question.

Wageningen UR and the NFO recently received a grant from the Top Sector Horticulture and Starting Materials for a new research project. The main question is what is the difference between an orchard with few earwigs and one with many? If it proves to be the availability of food for young earwigs, it may be possible to stimulate the number of earwigs by improving the conditions in the orchard.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post Increasing earwigs in orchard for IPM appeared first on Hort News on 24 June 2016.

Apple variety improves in storage

According to Tesco, a new apple variety which actually improves in store is set to ‘transform the UK apple industry.’

Red Prince, which is a cross between Golden Delicious and Red Jonathan, is grown in Kent by Adrian Scripps and will marketed through Tesco stores around the country. “We use the very latest storage technology to put the apple to sleep by lowering the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the cold store to ultra-low levels,” explains Adrian Scripps managing director James Simpson. “Apples are monitored daily for any change in the skin colour, which can indicate that the levels are incorrect and are putting the apple under stress. Oxygen levels are set at an optimum level found for the apple to store longer. This is different than normal storage where a standard regime is used that is not bespoke to the fruit in store.”

Tesco’s Master of Apples John Worth, commented, “As the English season doesn’t start until August the Holy Grail for growers has been to come up with a variety that holds its freshness and taste whilst it is put into cold storage during the winter months. Our grower has gone beyond that and found a new variety that actually improves in taste whilst it is dormant.

“Red Prince has a tangy, sweet taste and is large and firm. Somewhat like a fine wine, while it sleeps, its flavour and texture are enhanced as the natural sugars and acids mature to elevate the eating experience of this premium apple.”

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Sainsbury’s moves to top spot for English apples and pears

Sainsbury’s has regained the No1 position for English apples and pears, with over 42,000 tonnes of the home grown fruits sold this season, making it the biggest crop for any supermarket. Selling nearly 300 million apples and pears makes this the biggest season for Sainsbury’s to date according to independent figures released by English Apples and Pears Ltd.

Sainsbury’s has a record-breaking season for the biggest crop, with customers buying over 42,000 tonnes, equal to 298 million pieces of fruit and Gala apples proving to be the most popular across the UK.

This year’s top crop is the Gala apple with 12,300 tonnes of the variety, equal to 71 million apples.

Dr Theresa Huxley, Sainsbury’s apples and pear technologist said: “It’s fantastic to see customers making the most of the fantastic range of home grown fruit we have on offer.”

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Bumper apple crop predicted

According to the latest forecast from the World Apple & Pear Association, Europe is in for a bumper apple crop this year.

Speaking at the recent Prognosfruit conference the WAPA’s Philippe Binard said that larger crops in Poland, Italy, France, Portugal, Slovenia and the Czech Republic would more than compensate for declines in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Hungary and Greece.

Total apple production in the EU is estimated to be 11.97 million tonnes this year, with the pear crop at 2.34 million tonnes. Although down 5 per cent on last year’s figure, the apple figure is still 11 per cent above the five-year average. Traditionally popular apple varieties such as Golden Delicious, Red Delicious and Idared will see falls in production, while more recent introductions like Fuji and Pinova are on the rise.

In the UK, the latest figures from English Apples & Pears show that Sainsbury’s is the top retailer of English apples and pears after selling 42,000 tonnes this season. Of the 26 different apple varieties, and six pears, that Sainsbury’s sold, Gala remains the most popular, accounting for almost a third of the store’s apple sales.

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EMR studies apple replant disease

Scientists at East Malling Research (EMR) have been awarded £482,000 to study ‘Apple Replant Disease (ARD) Evolution and Rootstock Interaction (ARDERI)’.

Apple Replant Disease affects newly planted apple trees, which fail to thrive in areas where apples have previously grown. EMR will also collaborate with industry partners to provide detailed information about the disease, which it hopes could be used to develop new management strategies and provide significant input into breeding programmes.

“ARD is a complex disease syndrome and, until recent advances in DNA sequencing technology, it has been practically impossible to develop effective control measures against it”, commented EMR’s Leader of Genetics and Crop Improvement, Professor Xiangming Xu. He continued “With this new BBSRC, NERC and industry funding we will gain a greater understanding of the relationship between the causal agents, the rootstocks and the soil microbial populations. This new understanding will enable us to develop and implement effective control strategies for tomorrow’s fruit growers.”

This announcement is part of £4M being spent by BBSRC and NERC to fund six projects to benefit key crops. The funding is the second round of awards from the Horticulture and Potato Initiative (HAPI), which was developed by BBSRC together with NERC and the Scottish Government to support high quality, industrially relevant research projects on potato and edible horticulture crops.

This post first appeared on HortNews.